British Land has sold the freehold of the Swiss Centre, London W1 to McAleer & Rushe Group, a development and construction group based in Northern Ireland. 30 prospective bidders inspected the property and 16 offers were received. The sale price of £47 million is substantially in excess of book cost and 31 March 2004 value.
The Swiss Centre is a mixed use building including a cinema, restaurants, bars and a
car park at lower levels, with offices above, totalling around 112,000 sq ft. It sits on an
island site in the heart of London’s West End entertainment district, in a prime position
to the north side of Leicester Square, and thus presents an ideal refurbishment or
redevelopment opportunity.
Within the building, British Land’s asset management strategy has therefore been to
create short term, flexible leases, currently generating circa £1.80 million rental
revenue per annum. Following the successful completion of this strategy and the
relocation of Swiss Tourism from the building, British Land was able to offer the
Centre’s full potential to the market.
British Land originally acquired its interest in phases, achieving 100% ownership in
June 1999.
Jones Lang LaSalle acted on behalf of British Land in the disposal.
Source: British Land