Australia's Aware Super and Delancey are continuing a busy drive into UK real estate, entering talks to buy the Finsbury Circus House office building in the City of London from Germany's Union Investment for circa £140 million, CoStar News understands.
Union bought the 150,000-square-foot office at 12-15 Finsbury Circus from MEPC in 1992 and it sits in the UniImmo: Deutschland open-ended mutual property fund. It carried out a Fletcher Priest-designed makeover of the building with Co-re acting as development manager in 2012. Tenants at the multilet building include global brokerage Savills and Baird Capital.
Aware Super is an Australian industry superannuation fund headquartered in Sydney. It has A$176.9 billion under management and 1.15 million members.
In October it announced it had formed a strategic partnership with Delancey Real Estate, the UK investment, asset and development manager, to establish a property platform in the UK to invest up to an initial £1 billion, as reported.
Last week it emerged Australia's third-largest superannuation fund and Delancey have entered exclusivity after a fierce bidding war for 11-12 Hanover Square, an office and retail block backing on to London's Oxford Street for circa £170 million, or a sub-4% yield, in what would be a bellwether transaction for the market. It is also understood to have joined Delancey in its acquisition of financial advisory and asset management business Lazard's new headquarters in London's West End at 20 Manchester Square for around £120 million or a circa 5% yield.
After a muted 2024 with a lack of larger £100 million-plus transactions, there is evidence of City office investment picking up, particularly at the larger price end.
Two weeks ago it emerged that Malaysian investment giant IJM Corporation has bought the long leasehold interest in the neighbouring historic 1-5 London Wall Buildings in London, rebranded as 25 Finsbury Circus, for £72.5 million.
Union Investment and Delancey declined to comment. Aware Super did not respond to a request for comment.