Swiss pension fund AFIAA has entered the UK with the acquisition of the long leasehold of an office building in the City of London for a price said to be around £70 mln (EUR 77 mln).
Swiss pension fund AFIAA has entered the UK with the acquisition of the long leasehold of an office building in the City of London for a price said to be around £70 mln (EUR 77 mln).
Garrard House, which currently houses the headquarters of asset management firm Schroders, is located on Gresham Street, within the Square Mile and fully leased on a long-term lease. The purchase price for the 15,000 m2 building was financed by AFIAA with an equal amount of equity and leverage.
'The property is already generating ongoing returns on equity of over 10%,' the company said. 'Returns of this magnitude on real estate have not been seen in London for the past 35 years.'
The eight-floor property was built by Stanhope and Legal & General in 1998.
AFIAA has offices in Zurich, Munich, Vienna, Madrid, New York and Toronto, and engages primarily in direct investments in selected locations. The portfolio currently includes 27 direct investments with sustainable growth potential in the USA, Canada, Germany, the UK, France, Austria, and Spain. The total investment volume is about CHF 900 mln.
