Standard Chartered Private Bank has provided acquisition financing to a private Vietnamese debut investor in the UK for the £200 million-plus acquisition of the Lion Plaza offices on Old Broad Street in the City of London.
Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Standard Chartered Private Bank on the financing of Lion Plaza Propco’s acquisition of the multilet prime office building, which has retail and leisure units on the ground and basement floors. It has been bought from Doric Asset Finance and is the largest transaction to complete in the City of London for several months.
According to Companies House, Lion Plaza Propco has been registered by Vietnamese investor Maurice Duc Hinh Nguyen.
The building is American law firm White & Case's City of London headquarters and originally came to market at the end of last year at a guide price of £262.7 million and a net initial yield of 4.75% with Cushman & Wakefield advising on the sale.
The 264,967-square-foot office sits on an 1.4-acre site less than 100 metres from The Bank of England and The Royal Exchange.
It is thought that the sale closed at £209 million and a net initial yield of 6%, a 20% discount to the initial quoting price. It is thought that Standard Chartered has provided a senior loan of around 50% loan to value, indicating a loan size of around £105 million.
Norton Rose Fulbright partner Sarah Cullen said in a statement: “This transaction is highly significant and is the biggest office sale in the City of London so far this year. It demonstrates that, despite the challenging current economic conditions, there remains overseas investor confidence and appetite in prime London office space.”
Cushman & Wakefield declined to comment.
Completion of the sale and financing will boost a City market that has been characterised in recent times by a lack of new sales. Savills reports in its City Market Watch that seven assets totalling £304 million were launched in June and just £1.25 billion of sales in the first six months of 2023, highlighting the "unwillingness of owners to launch properties in challenging market conditions".
According to CoStar's data second quarter office investment in the City came in at £400 million, 70% down from the first quarter and a quarter of the 10-year average.
Watling House at 33 Cannon Street, EC4, has gone under offer for around £70 million, a circa 6% net initial yield. The 94,489 square feet office has a weighted average unexpired lease term of around three years and a passing rent of £48.86 per square feet.
BlackRock is selling the building, with the purchaser Goldstone Commercial on behalf of a Hong Kong client. CBRE is advising BlackRock.