Editor's note: This article was updated on 8 February as the name of the buyer could not be confirmed.
A private investor has quietly spent £115 million on two adjoining retail and office blocks in Covent Garden – 19-25 Long Acre and 29-32 Floral Street – one of them occupied by US coworking group WeWork, CoStar News can reveal.
The transaction reflects a net initial yield of 3.9% and sees an investor buy the 50,000 square feet of offices from owners Shaftesbury Capital and the Church Commissioners for England. Shaftesbury sold its leasehold interest and the Church Commissioners the freehold. The deal completed towards the end of last year, according to JLL. The former said it had sold the leasehold in a trading update on 23 November.
Long Acre is a 42,311-square-foot office that the buyer has paid just over £100 million for and 29-32 Floral Street, also known as Carriage Hall, is an 8,562-square-foot office which it has bought for just over £14 million, also according to JLL. A Land Registry filing for the sites is pending.
Uniqlo signed a lease in April 2023, for 15,600 square feet, according to CoStar data on 19-26 Long Acre. WeWork occupies around 30,000 square feet across the top floors. Sister brand Theory, owned by parent company Fast Retailing, has a store at 29 Floral Street, according to its website. A spokeswoman for Uniqlo and Fast Retailing said it was not the buyer.
US group WeWork warned in August "substantial doubt exists" about its ability to continue as a going concern and in September announced it was attempting to renegotiate most of its leases globally . For a review of how those negotiations are playing out click here. In November it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a move that it said only affects its business in the United States and Canada. It has been exiting some leases in the UK and has sought to reduce its rent at some properties.
JLL advised the buyer. Colliers advised the Church Commissioners. Shaftesbury Capital was unrepresented.