The largest sale of an office in the City of London in 2024 so far has exchanged.
Royal London Asset Management has exchanged to buy Atlantic House on the City’s border with Midtown for around £180 million from CBRE Investment Management. Cushman & Wakefield is advising Royal London while CBRE is advising CBRE IM.
CBRE Global Investors bought Atlantic House at 45-51 Holborn Viaduct from Germany's DEKA for £250 million plus or a sub-3.75% yield, equating to £1,100 per square feet, in one of the largest UK office transactions of 2021, in a deal revealed by CoStar News can reveal. The 259,600-square-foot building is occupied by lawyer Lovells.
By the half way mark there had been no office sales completed over £100 million in the City of London for the first time in a half-year since 1999, as reported. Subsequently the year’s first £100 million-plus City transaction completed at Herbal House, 8-10 Back Hill, EC1, with the Yellow Tree Group acquiring the freehold interest of the 114,041-square-foot property for just over £100 million.
Cushman & Wakefield reports a strong increase in major transactions going under offer to lift the market in the second half. It says that as of 1 June this year £700 million was under offer across central London but as of 10 September there is £1.54 billion under offer. The figures have more than doubled over three months. "That is a good way into what we are expecting to be an active Q4," says head of London office capital markets Martin Lay. "Some of those deals will close before year end and provide a better feel of the market."