British Land has completed the profitable sale of the 999 year lease of 1 Fleet Place, Ludgate, London EC4 for £119.5 million to the Legal & General Assurance Society. British Land had restructured the lease to the principal tenant, Denton Wilde Sapte, for a term of 20 years without break at an average office rent of £36 per ft². The price shows an initial yield to the purchaser after full acquisition costs of 5%.
Bob Bowden, Property Investment Director of British Land, commented: "We are delighted with this price which resulted from strong competition from a number of potential purchasers and the sale is simply a matter of taking profits after a beneficial lease renegotiation and allowing us to recycle capital into other City projects."
Mark Creedy of Legal & General commented: "Our Linked Life Fund has been growing strongly and was underexposed to the Central London office market. 1 Fleet Place is a modern well-let building with attractive income growth potential when rent reviews occur in 2008."
Source: British Land