Hong Kong firm beats Brexit blues with record City skycraper deal

A Hong Kong firm struck a record deal for a London skyscraper on Thursday amid a rise in foreign investment in property since the Brexit vote, but a slump in domestic demand hit the profits of real estate agent Foxtons.

Condiment-maker Lee Kum Kee, a family business that is best known for its oyster sauce, is buying up the building nicknamed the “Walkie Talkie” for £1.3 billion (1.5 billion euros, $1.7 billion), the highest price ever for an office building in Britain.

The iconic 34-storey skyscraper in London’s insurance district, with three-tiered sky garden and restaurant on top, hit the headlines just after being built when it was blamed for damaging a car by reflecting the sun’s rays.

“This is the UK’s largest ever office deal,” Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial property giant which advised on the deal, said in a statement.

“Since the vote to leave the EU, capital targeting London from the Asia-Pacific region has increased to record levels,” said James Beckham, head of London capital markets at the property company.

“This is partly due to currency fluctuations but is more indicated of longer-term confidence in London and investment strategies which are not derailed by short-term political uncertainty,” he said.

The deal comes months after Chinese property magnate Cheung Chung Kiu bought another London landmark — the “Cheesegrater” building — for £1.15 billion.

The previous highest price for a single piece of British commercial property was the HSBC tower in Canary Wharf which was bought by the Qatar Investment Authority in December 2014 for £1.175 billion. (AFP)