Union Investment sells Whitefriars to exploit demand for core assets in London

Hamburg-based Union Investment Real Estate has sold the Whitefriars office building in London to the Employee Provident Fund of Malaysia (EPF) for around £148 mln (EUR 176 mln).

The nine-storey Whitefriars office building is located at 65 Fleet Street.

The German fund manager owned the 21,000-m² asset for 14 years before selling it to a special purpose vehicle operated on behalf of the Malaysian social security agency.

'After having extended the lease with existing tenant Freshfields we took the opportunity to sell the property and take advantage of current strong demand for core investments', said Karl-Joseph Hermanns-Engel, a member of the management board of Union Investment Real Estate.

Whitefriars was acquired in December 1997 for the open-ended real estate fund UniImmo: Deutschland for £124 mln, based on an expert valuation figure. Built in 1989, it was one of the oldest properties in the fund’s portfolio.

This is the second successful office property sale in London by Union Investment within five months. 10 Gresham Street property, which had been held by sister fund UniImmo: Europa for around a year, was sold at the beginning of August for approximately £175 mln to a joint venture between Hammerson and Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.