The Great Ropemaker Partnership (GRP), a 50/50 joint venture between Great Portland Estates (GPE) and Ropemaker Properties has inked a deal to sell 240 Blackfriars Road in London to clients of Dubai's Wolfe Asset Management (WAML) for £266.5 mln (€302 mln).
WAML is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Al Gurg Family, which owns the business conglomerate Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group in Dubai.
According to GPE, the headline price of £266.5 mln, marginally ahead of the September 2017 book value, reflects a net initial yield of 3.94% and a capital value of £1,176 (€1,333) per ft2. Completion is scheduled for January 2018.
'The sale of 240 Blackfriars Road is the culmination of an exceptional development project for GRP,' said Toby Courtauld, chief executive of GPE.
'Having secured an attractive planning permission in March 2011, GRP commenced development in January 2012 following the pre-letting of 105,825 ft2 (9831 m2) to UBM Plc. The sale continues our strategy of recycling capital out of assets where we have created value.'
240 Blackfriars Road is a 20 storey building constructed in 2014 comprising 226,271 ft2 (21,021 m2) of grade A offices and retail accommodation. The offices are fully let to seven office tenants including UBM, Boodle Hatfield, Ramboll UK and Lonely Planet Publications. The retail tenants include Pret a Manger and Elvetham, trading as Abokado.
The sale incorporates Cubitt House, a 10,690 ft2 (993 m2) adjoining retail and residential building, where all ten apartments have been sold off on long leases and the retail unit is let to The Coffeworks Project.
The total contracted rental income is £11.2 mln (€12.7 mln) per annum and current weighted unexpired lease term is approximately 8.4 years to the earlier of expiries or breaks.
'The 240 Blackfriars Road building is iconic in its design and an instantly recognisable feature of the London skyline,' said Abdulla Al Gurg, group general manager of WAML.
'It perfectly fits within our strategy of owning best in class commercial buildings in prominent London locations. Southbank is regarded as one of London's most vibrant districts and thriving sub-markets, with a unique combination of world renowned arts and theatre institutions, hotels, luxury residential developments, excellent connectivity and prime real estate.'
CBRE advised WAML, alongside JLL and LaSalle.
'We are delighted to have advised Wolfe in acquiring another Landmark building following the purchase of The Peak last year,' said James Rood, senior director, London investment properties, CBRE. '240 Blackfriars offers excellent wealth preservation attributes and has expanded Wolfe’s enviable London portfolio into a growth sub-market of the Capital which offers fantastic long term growth prospects.'
