Wainbridge Capital Limited, a Jersey-based property investment manager, announces that it has acquired the long leasehold interests in two office buildings on Alfred Place, close to Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road Underground stations in London's West End, as a potential development opportunity.
Wainbridge purchased the properties on behalf of its Wainbridge Global Opportunities London Limited fund ('WGOL') from a private investor for £9.25 million (approx. 11.8 million).
The existing buildings, at 31/32 and 33/34 Alfred Place, which were constructed in the 1950s, comprise 43,383 ft² (approx. 4,000 m²) net lettable area (NLA) of grade-C office space.
Wainbridge intends to secure a planning consent to demolish the existing buildings and replace them with a major office redevelopment that is better suited to occupiers' needs. The buildings are currently three quarters vacant and Wainbridge expects to secure vacant possession of the site in the coming weeks.
Rental levels for high quality offices in the West End remain strong, and with very limited new supply coming onto the market, is expected to remain so in the coming years. Located only a short distance from Oxford Street, Alfred Place is extremely well positioned, and stands to benefit from the improved transport links and regeneration of the area around Tottenham Court Road station resulting from the construction of Crossrail.
The deal follows WGOL's acquisition of three office buildings in nearby Chenies Crescent in March 2011, and is in line with the Fund's strategy to acquire 'value-add' office and mixed-use properties, predominantly concentrated within London, with a degree of capex or leasing risk.
Michael Elliott LLP acted for the purchaser whilst JLL acted for the vendor.
Rob Rackind, principal and co-founder, Wainbridge Limited, commented: "This is a fantastic opportunity to redevelop dated, but well located, office buildings to create the kind of grade-A product that is in limited supply in this market, and will only be in greater demand when Crossrail is completed.
"This is the type of deal that plays to our strengths of extracting maximum value from properties by leveraging our asset management and development experience, and we are confident that our planned scheme will provide an excellent return for our investors."
Source: FTI Consulting
