1 OLD QUEEN STREET
1 OLD QUEEN STREET
1 OLD QUEEN STREET
RE Capital transacts £60m in London offices
RE Capital, the pan-European investment, development and asset management company, has completed the sale of 1 Old Queen Street, St James’s Park SW1, to a private investor for £38.45 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 3.83%
This transaction follows a trio of early lettings at the 20,000 sq ft office building situated opposite Westminster Abbey, including a new record for the Westminster sub-market of £95 per sq ft.
RE Capital first acquired the building during the first lockdown for £24m, making it one of the only office investment transactions in Q3 2020, and has since invested £4m in a large-scale refurbishment and repositioning project. This included securing planning consent for a communal roof terrace over-looking Westminster Abbey, a private courtyard, the installation of generous end of journey facilities, high-quality materials throughout the building and a plug and play specification across the top two floors.RE Capital was advised by Gerald Eve, Savills and Katten Munchen Rosenman. The purchaser was advised by CBRE and Dentons.
In a separate transaction, RE Capital has acquired The Corner Building, 91-93 Farringdon Road, for £21.125 million in joint venture with SFO Capital Partners. The 18,859 sq ft office building is 58% let and is situated in close proximity to Farringdon Crossrail station. RE Capital plan to reposition the building through a targeted capex programme to deliver a Grade A office asset. Vacant floors will be refurbished to CAT A+ and the roof space will converted into a communal terrace. RE Capital & SFO Capital Partners were advised by Gunnercooke LLP.
Newman Leech, chief executive officer of RE Capital commented: “To secure such a compelling exit of 1 Old Queen Street, having recently achieved practical completion is a very strong endorsement of our original investment rationale, our asset management expertise and the future of high-quality offices in strong locations. We remain committed to both this part of London, having started construction at our UK flagship, Greycoat Stores, a 78,000 sq ft mixed-use destination development in Victoria, as well as the London office market more broadly and look forward to repositioning The Corner Building as a market-leading office.”
