London defies Brexit fears as City site is prepared for sale
MADISON International Realty LLC and TH Realty Estate plan to sell a collection of buildings in the City of London financial district that could be redeveloped into an office tower, two people with knowledge of the sale said.
Broker CBRE Group Inc has been appointed to offer the Houndsditch Estate to a small group of potential buyers, seeking bids of more than Stg£240m (€272m), the people said, asking not to be identified because the plan is private.
The estate, which is three minutes’ walk from The Gherkin building, currently includes five buildings, which could be partially modernised or demolished to make way for a 19-storey tower, the people said. Representatives for Madison, TH Real Estate and CBRE declined to comment.
Demand for London office space has so far defied expectations of a Brexit-induced downturn, encouraging more owners to consider sales in the hope of securing record prices.
Companies leased 3.2m square feet (297,000 square metres) of office space in the City of London financial district in the first half of 2017, a 19pc increase on the previous year, according to data compiled by broker Savills Plc.
Madison bought a 50pc interest in the estate in 2014 for about Stg£100m and has since increased its ownership to a majority stake, the people said. TH Real Estate meanwhile is an affiliate of Nuveen, the asset management unit of the Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America.