Hermes acquires London office tower

Hermes Real Estate Investment Management has acquired the Finsbury Tower office building near the 'Tech City' district of London.

Hermes paid £67 mln (€78 mln) to the Middle Eastern-based owner HNS Group.

Finsbury Tower offers 14,200 m2 of office accommodation with the building currently 85% let. Long-term occupiers include the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Corus Group, Kaplan Financial, Walker Crips and Thomson Financial News. The building is located close to both 'the Silicon Roundabout' at Old Street to the north and Moorgate to the south.

Hermes was represented by Michael Elliott and DTZ. DE & J Levy acted for the HNS Group.

Chris Taylor, CEO of Hermes Real Estate Investment Management, said: 'Only a stone’s throw from some of the most innovative tech companies in Europe, our primary aim will be to reposition Finsbury Tower to cater for this type of occupier. This may well include exploring refurbishment opportunities which, aligned with our investment ambitions, add value to the asset.'

Hussein Nuaman Soufraki , chairman of HNS Group said: 'Finsbury Tower has been a successful development and long term holding in our portfolio. We wish Hermes success with its repositioning of the asset.

'With the exit of its current UK property portfolio, HNS Group will expand its interests to the emerging markets of Libya and other North African regions while actively seeking new redevelopment investment opportunities in the UK.'