Norway's giant oil pension fund has acquired the Queensberry House mixed-use scheme in London from Italian asset manager Sorgente for a price of £191 mln (€254 mln).

Norway's giant oil pension fund has acquired the Queensberry House mixed-use scheme in London from Italian asset manager Sorgente for a price of £191 mln (€254 mln).

Oslo-based Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), acting on behalf of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global, bought the 7,000 m2 commercial asset in the Mayfair district where the Group already has a significant presence having carried out a number of acquisitions in the recent past.

In August last year, the investor spent £381 mln to buy a majority stake in the Church Commissioners for England's 64% holding in the Pollen Estate. The purchase was made in joint venture with the Crown Estate, the British monarch’s real estate vehicle.

Queensberry House was put on the market through Knight Frank last year and received over 50 expressions of interest. The asset, owned by Sorgente's €500 mln David fund, received a total of seven binding offers, the vendor said in a statement. It provides retail and office space over five floors as well as 320 parking spaces.

The David fund specialises in trophy, iconic buildings with its portfolio including the Alberto Sordi shopping gallery and the Rinascente building in Rome, as well as Palazzo Cordusio in Milan.