M&G seals off-market office deal in Reading

M&G Real Estate has acquired an office property in the English town of Reading in an off-market deal.

The asset, Reading Bridge House, was purchased for £35 mln (€43 mln), representing a net initial yield of 7.31% on behalf of the M&G Property Portfolio.

Reading Bridge House is one of Reading’s biggest buildings providing 10,500 m2 of grade A office accommodation over 10 storeys. It is located on the northern side of Reading Town Centre, a short walk from Reading Station and the Heathrow Rail Air link.

Fiona Rowley, fund manager of M&G Property Portfolio: 'This is an important acquisition for us - Reading is the focal point for economic growth along the M4 corridor and one of the most accessible office centres for Central London in the Thames Valley.'

This is the third office acquisition made on behalf of the M&G Property Portfolio this year, following the purchases of Riverside House in January and 108 Cannon Street in May 2014.

M&G Real Estate is the real estate fund management arm of M&G and is one of the top 25 real estate fund managers in the world with over £17.6 bn invested in a broad spread of properties across Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific region at end-March 2014. M&G is the investment arm of in the UK-based financial group Prudential.