The real estate arm of Italian insurer Generali has announced the sale of a 50% interest in Fen Court, a landmark office building in the City of London.
As part of the deal, Generali Real Estate, on behalf of Generali Group companies, transferred ownership of the asset to a new special purpose vehicle with German asset manager Meag, active on behalf of Munich Re, buying a 50% share.
The Generali Group will continue to hold 50% in the same vehicle, which is invested by Generali Group companies, and Generali Real Estate will continue to act as asset manager.
Munich Re will be both a co-investor alongside the Generali Group, and an occupier of Fen Court, with two floors (2nd and 3rd floor) of the property becoming its new London headquarters.
Starting later this year, Munich Re aims to centralize all its London staff into a single, central location in the new flagship asset.
Located at 120 Fenchurch Street, Fen Court is an iconic, landmark, 440,000 ft2 (40,500 m2) development designed by Eric Parry Architects which was completed by Generali Real Estate in 2018. The property, located in the heart of the City of London, is configured over 14 upper floors with excellent natural light and large open plan floorplates. The ground floor level houses six retail units, and the office spaces host the headquarters of high-profile tenants such as M&G and Newline Underwriting. Fen Court has achieved strong environmental credentials such as BREEAM In Use Excellent and EPC B rating.
Nicholas Gartside, CIO and Member of the Munich Re Board said: ‘I am delighted to offer our London colleagues a new home, with wonderful working spaces in such a fantastic location, whilst securing one of the most prominent London properties for the Munich Re's asset portfolio. Our new London home will serve as a platform for further profitable growth in the UK insurance market in challenging times.’
Aldo Mazzocco, CEO at Generali Real Estate and head of Private Markets & Real Assets at Generali Asset & Wealth Management, commented: ‘We continue our practice of sharing 50% of the ownership of high-quality buildings in major European cities with primary international co-investors. This partnership involves an iconic skyscraper in the heart of the financial district in London, representing a perfect example of our commitment to advancing sustainability standards in the real estate sector, and of our consolidated experience in real estate investment management at European level. It’s a great satisfaction to get Munich Re as a co-investor and tenant in such a beautiful building.’
JLL and Mayer Brown advised Generali Real Estate. Cushman & Wakefield and CMS acted for Munich Re.
