Kuwait makes massive investment in central London

St Martins, the UK property arm of Kuwait's sovereign wealth fund, has acquired a central London office estate in probably the largest single real estate investment transaction in the market this year.

Various media sources suggest that St. Martins Property Group is paying £1.7 bn, or just over €2 bn, for More London.

More London is a five-hectare office-led, mixed-use scheme on the south bank of the River Thames, southwest of Tower Bridge in the UK Capital.

The 280,000 m2 of usable space is divided between City Hall, occupied by the Greater London Authority, another 10 buildings and a cafe kiosk.

The vendor, London Bridge Holdings disclosed the transaction in a statement on Saturday 7 December, without naming the buyer or the investment volume. It described the transaction as a strategic sale to a 'well-established London Property owner'. Subsequently, various British media named Kuwait's St Martins as the buyer of the estate for £1.7 bn.

The vendor’s statement revealed that London Bridge Holdings originally had commenced a process to refinance More London by the early summer of 2014. 'But, when presented with a highly attractive offer which maximises the value of its ownership of More London, London Bridge Holdings determined to capitalise on this opportunity.'

The statement added: 'This transaction underscores the success of London Bridge Holdings in transforming a blighted, brown field site into a vibrant and vital global business centre. More London today is a magnificent development of properties, home to world-class tenants from both the private and public sectors. It is an important symbol of London's position as an international business centre with morning, lunchtime and early evening footfall traffic at levels comparable to Bond Street.'

London Bridge Holdings originally acquired the brownfield site which it developed into More London in 1998.