(Updated on 3 January to add price)
Iroko Zen has finished the year with its second London property purchase, buying a prime mixed-use scheme in the City near Liverpool Street station.
Marion Bertrand, head of investment at Iroko, confirmed the group's deal for 164 Bishopsgate, a circa 49,494-square-foot office-led scheme, in a LinkedIn post this week, calling it "an emblematic building".
Iroko has confirmed on its website that it paid €31.26 million, or £25.95 million for the London property let to Tesco and Dirty Martini cocktail bar. Bertrand added that the deal made up a portion of the €140 million (£116 million) deployed by the group this month.
Iroko's head of investment added that the group, which described the, UK as an "investment playground" in June, had also acquired a supermarket leased to Sainsbury's in Taunton, Somerset in her post.
British Land, the vendor, acquired 164 Bishopsgate from UBS Asset Management for £37.2 million in January 2019, reflecting a net yield of 4.8%.
The property was one of the UK REIT's first to house its flexible workspace brand, Storey, which has since grown in the Broadgate area to include accommodation at the nearby 155 and 201 Bishopsgate.
164 Bishopsgate is a redeveloped Victorian fire station originally constructed in 1885 and is currently let to five tenants. It has an average weighted average remaining lease term of 6.5 years.
Iroko Zen's latest deal sees it dip into the London investment market for a second time this year, having made it first entrance in June with the purchase of 90 Union Street, a 18,298-square-foot office let to Sonnedix UK Services.
It paid CBRE Investment Management circa £14.4 million for the South Bank scheme and outlined its ambitions to make further acquisitions in the country in an announcement at the time, vowing to "keep a close eye on the UK market".
The French investment fund has been active in other parts of the country, largely buying offices, but it has also explored retail parks. Its significant deals this year include the circa £50 million purchase of Morgan Stanley's Glasgow offices at 122 Waterloo Street.
It also bought Barrhead Retail Park in Glasgow for £14.6 million, reflecting a 7% yield, at the beginning of last month.
Iroko was approached for comment.
