DevDosh Ltd lately known that another iconic building and London landmark has been acquired by Chinese investors based out of Hong Kong, The Walkie Talkie Building was purchased by Lee Kum Kee in the UK’s biggest ever deal for a solitary commercial building.
The office building located at 20 Fenchurch Street was purchased by Lee Kum Kee’s Health Products arm of his business, this part of the company actually deals in health products and property investment a highly unusual combination,’ but a dose of UK property is most definitely healthy right now’.
This purchase outshines the sale of the Leadenhall building known as “the Cheesegrater” which was bought earlier this year for 1.15 Bn GBP, and the 1.1Bn paid by Qataris for HSBC tower for 1.1Bn, Lee Kum Kee will pay 1.28Bn for the Walkie Talkie Building.
The Walkie Talkie Building has nearly 700,000 Sq feet, 17,000 sq feet of retail space over 37 floors and also incorporates the Sky Garden tourist attraction.
The building was jointly owned by large UK property developer Land Securities and a conglomerate of investors called Canary Wharf Group.
Lee Kum Kee intends to rent the property to make their returns.
LKK Health Products Group said the acquisition was a “long-term investment” that extends its property portfolio and will provide a “reasonable return” from rental income.
As far as DevDosh Ltd known, This transaction was put together by the group’s Infinitus investment arm, who currently own and manage properties in China and Hong Kong.
Rob Noel, chief executive of Land Securities, said the transaction was a “monumental deal” for the company.
“We started a big push into London development in 2010, and to check out of that now is a real vindication of our strategy,” he said, adding that the sale had “crystallized a huge return”.
“It cost us £473m to build and we’ve sold it for £1.28bn – that’s virtually unprecedented,” he said. Land Securities will hand £475m of the expected £634.5m of proceeds of the sale to shareholders in the autumn.
At the present moment in time Land Securities do not have any intention in selling any further large assets, but it would not be ruled out if the right offer came along.
James Beckham, head of London capital markets at Cushman & Wakefield, which advised LKK on the deal, said Asian interest in London real estate has spiked since the vote to leave the EU.
“This record-breaking deal demonstrates the enormous investor appetite in London, and in the City’s reputation as the global place to do business,” he said.
“Since the vote to leave the EU, capital targeting London from the Asia-Pacific region has increased to record levels. This is partly due to currency fluctuations but is more indicative of longer-term confidence in London and investment strategies, which are not derailed by short-term political uncertainty.”
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