Singapore company City Developments Limited (CDL) has bought an office building in the City of London for 拢385m (鈧�434m).
The acquisition of 125 Old Broad Street from Blackstone comes just over a month after it acquired another London office, Aldgate House, for 拢183m.
The two investments have been led by group CIO Frank Khoo, the former head of Asia-Pacific at AXA Investment Managers鈥揜eal Assets, who was hired by CDL at the beginning of the year.
鈥淲e have confidence in the long-term fundamentals of London as a global financial hub with a robust office market,鈥� said Khoo.
鈥淭he short-term uncertainties surrounding Brexit have presented us opportunities to acquire assets with deep value. Capitalising on attractive pricing and yields, we have continued to expand our London commercial portfolio through strategic off-market acquisitions of high-performance assets.
鈥淭he tightening of London鈥檚 existing office stock and limited new supply will also drive rental growth into 2021.鈥�
Cushman & Wakefield, which advised CDL on the purchase of 125 Old Broad Street and is also a tenant, said central London鈥檚 office market was 鈥渆njoying a robust performance鈥�, with the strongest quarterly leasing volume for three years.
Blackstone bought the property in 2014 for 拢320m for its core-plus real estate strategy.
The property occupies a rare large freehold island site in the City of London, overlooking the Bank of England. The former home of the London Stock Exchange was redeveloped in 2008 and includes 329,200sqft of office, retail and ancillary accommodation arranged over three basement levels, ground floor, mezzanine and 26 upper floors.
