South Africans acquire 10% of office space on Guernsey

South African real estate fund Stenprop is acquiring the 10,500 m2 Trafalgar Court office property on Guernsey, representing 10% of the UK Channel Island's entire office stock.

The investment volume of £61 mln (€85 mln) reflects a yield of 6.5%.

Colliers International brokered the sale on behalf of the vendor, London-based investment manager Riverside Capital. The transaction is scheduled to complete on 24 March.

'The building was selectively marketed by Colliers with direct approaches made by us to a short list of potential purchasers,' said Colliers International director Dominic Amey. 'We knew Trafalgar Court would be a very big deal for the Channel Islands as there are not many assets of this size and significance that come to the market. However, we received strong interest and secured a deal above the asking price.'

Trafalgar Court is currently leased to two companies including Canadian financial services firm Northern Trust on a 13-year term, and Aztec Holdings, an offshore trust and fiduciary service company with guarantees from Close Bank on an eight-year term. The property generates a total rent of £4.1 mln per annum, giving the asset a net yield of around 6.5%.

Trafalgar Court is located close to St Peter Port, directly adjacent to Les Banques, and forms part of the prime office development known as Admiral Park. Other key tenants within Admiral Park include Kleinwort Benson, ABN Amro, Intertrust and Carey Olsen.