The Economist to sell editorial HQ to fund share deal

The owners of UK financial journal The Economist are putting the magazine’s London headquarters up for sale following publisher Pearson’s sale of half its stake in the parent company.

The three properties at 25 St James’s Street, including the Economist Tower, have been the magazine’s home since the 1960s and are valued at £150 mln (€210 mln).

The Economist Group said the sale would fund the repurchase of £182 mln of Pearson’s shares which are being distributed among existing shareholders. The company is looking for new offices in London which it says will be better suited to its requirements as a digital-focused 21st-century media company.

Pearson’s sale of its 50% shareholding in The Economist Group is the last stage in its withdrawal from newspaper publishing as it seeks to focus on education. The Agnelli family’s investment vehicle Exor has agreed to purchase £287 mln worth of shares to become the largest stakeholder, with a 43.4% holding. Exor has agreed to cap its voting rights at 20%.

The Economist Group’s commercial operations are based in Canary Wharf, but it is not thought to be planning to move its editorial division to the same site.

Rupert Pennant-Rea, chairman of the Economist Group, said: ‘The strength of the group’s balance sheet meant that we could reorganise our shares so as to reinforce our editorial independence and benefit our shareholders.’