LondonMetric Property Plc sells St. Paul's office scheme for €177.6 mln (UK)

LondonMetric Property Plc announces that it is has entered into an agreement with Fubon Life Insurance Company Limited for the sale of One Carter Lane, London, EC4 for £138.8 mln (approx. €177.6 mln).
The sale is conditional upon Fubon Life receiving the necessary regulatory approvals. LondonMetric will receive a non-refundable deposit of £6.94 mln (approx. €8.88 mln).
The 129,081 ft² (approx. 11,992 m²) office property, located opposite St Paul’s Cathedral is held on a long leasehold. It is currently circa 73% let by floor area to MFS and SEB and the company is currently in detailed negotiations with a potential tenant regarding the letting of the last two remaining floors. The contracted net rental income is currently £4.54 mln (approx. €5.81 mln) pa rising to £6.29 mln (approx. €8.05 mln) upon letting of the remaining space. The property was originally acquired in 2011 for £75 mln (approx. €96 mln) and LondonMetric has recently completed a comprehensive refurbishment at a net cost of £15 mln (approx. €19 mln).
On completion of the transaction, the net receipt after allowing for unexpired rent free deductions will be £124.8 mln (approx. €159.6 mln) which compares to a March 2014 Book Value of £106.2 mln (approx. €135.8 mln).
Andrew Jones, Chief Executive of LondonMetric, commented: “Carter Lane is a prime office development which has benefitted strongly from market and asset management driven valuation growth, and we believe now is the right time to capitalise on this. A sale will release cash for reinvestment into our strong pipeline of opportunities in our core areas of retail and retail distribution.”
Source: LondonMetric Propert Plc