Henderson, SWF buys London office campus for over EUR 217m

Henderson Global Investors and a Canadian sovereign wealth fund have jointly acquired the widely sought after Leadenhall Triangle office complex in the City of London for a figure substantially in excess of £190 mln (EUR 217 mln). The asset was last valued at £140 mln.

Henderson advised the Canadian fund which will own a third of the 42,700-m² asset. The other two thirds is being divided equally between Henderson's Central London Offices Fund I and Fund II.

The former owners of the campus, clients of property fund manager Investream, brought in special servicer Hatfield Philips in June last year due to concerns about the ability to repay a £171 mln debt secured against the five-building site.

The campus has development potential for a further 116,000 m².

Hatfield Philips put the site in administration under PWC in November after the loan was not repaid. Property advisory Cooke and Powell was subsequently appointed as asset manager and has stabilised the income stream by 'high-quality, old-fashioned asset management' ahead of the sales process, Simon Cooke, of Cooke and Powell, said.

The asset has around 60 tenants on long leases, with only about 10% of the lettable area vacant.

Henderson and its Canadian partner clinched the deal last Friday. The sale is understood to have generated fierce competition with interest being expressed by a wide range of international investors. About a dozen final bids were received before Henderson and a second bidding round had been considered, Cooke said.