Landsec sells London office assets to Sun Venture for £552m

Landsec sells London office assets to Sun Venture for £552m

Landsec has agreed to sell 1 & 2 New Ludgate, a combined 389,615 sqft of office and retail assets in London, to Sun Venture, a Singapore-based multi-asset investment firm, for £552 million.

Landsec said the proceeds will initially be used to pay down debt before being reinvested into growth opportunities over time.

Occupying a highly prominent 1.5 acre site next to the Old Bailey with views of St Paul’s Cathedral, 1 & 2 New Ludgate was developed by Landsec in 2015.  The assets generate an annualised contracted rental income of £23.7m and were valued at 31 March 2020 at £546.4m.


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1 New Ludgate comprises 183,305 sq ft of office and retail accommodation and is multi-let to several occupiers, including Ropes & Gray International LLP and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. 2 New Ludgate comprises 206,310 sq ft of office and retail accommodation, with the offices let entirely to Mizuho Bank.
 
The deal is the second UK acquisition for Sun Venture, and follows their recent acquisition of One New Oxford Street from Nuveen Real Estate, on behalf of Central London Office Fund (CLOF) and British Airways Pension Trustees Limited.

“The sale of 1 & 2 New Ludgate crystallises the value created by our team as we continue to execute our strategy of optimising our central London portfolio through a targeted recycling programme into new opportunities,” said Marcus Geddes, Head of Property at Landsec.

“1 & 2 New Ludgate are best-in-class assets and we are pleased to have them in our portfolio. London remains attractive to investors taking a long-term view, and this second acquisition forms part of our strategy to expand our presence overseas. Sun Venture remains committed to deliver value to our tenants, investors, and business associates for our London assets,” said Ricky Au, Chairman of Sun Venture.