Cromwell Property Group has sold Imperial Place to a fund managed by First Property Group for £62.5m (€70.8m).
Located in Borehamwood, a commuter town near London, Imperial Place is a 220,540sqft multi-let in-town office complex, which has 24 tenancies and 18 different business occupiers.
Cromwell said since acquiring the four-building office campus in August 2014, it has completed a comprehensive asset management programme, which included a refurbishment of the on-site café and 29,000sqft of office space.
Stephen Cahoon, the head of Cromwell’s UK asset management, said: “A key
driver for our acquisition of Imperial Place was the identification of an opportunity to improve and re-let the vacant space in a market with reducing office stock.
“Office to residential conversion had been increasingly active resulting in a very tight office market.”
Cahoon said Cromwell’s asset management team have added real value by creating a product that appeals to occupiers, taking occupancy from 88% to 100% and increasing the annual rent roll by 29%.
A spokesperson from First Property, said: “Borehamwood is a well-located office campus set to benefit from continuing strong occupier demand.
“We believe that current rents are attractively priced compared to surrounding offices in areas like Watford, St Albans and other locations close to the M25.”
In July last year, IPE Real Assets reported that First Property had raised £179m from eight occupational pension schemes for Fprop Offices, a fund that will invest in office blocks and business parks across England.
