Cathay Life buys Walbrook Building for €802 mln in London (UK)

Minerva, the real estate investment and development group jointly owned by funds managed by Ares Management and Delancey, announced the sale of The Walbrook Building, a prime City of London office and retail asset, to Taiwan-based insurer Cathay Life. The headline price was £575 mln (approx. €802 mln), before certain adjustments including for unexpired rent-free periods.
In 2011 when Minerva was acquired, the Walbrook Building was 100% vacant. Today, the EC4 property is home to several high-profile international office tenants, including Worldpay, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Xchanging, and Vanguard. Virgin Active and Waitrose have recently signed long-term leases in the retail portion of the building.
Designed by globally-acclaimed architects Foster & Partners, the Walbrook Building features a highly distinctive contemporary curved façade and provides 440,000 ft² (40,877 m²) of state-of-the-art office space and retail space.
It offers some of the largest trading floor plates in Europe, has an environmental rating of “Excellent” from BREEAM, and provides tenants with an inspirational, yet highly functional place to do business.
The sale of The Walbrook Building marks Minerva’s fourth asset sale since 2011, following the sale of the Ram Brewery to Greenland Group and the fully-let St Botolph Building to Deka.
Source: FTI Consulting