RE Capital has completed the sale of 1 Old Queen Street, St James’s Park SW1, to a private investor for €45.2m (£38.4m), reflecting a net initial yield of 3.83%. This transaction follows a trio of early lettings at the 20,000ft² office building situated opposite Westminster Abbey, including a new record for the Westminster sub-market of €111 (£95) per ft².
RE Capital first acquired the building during the first lockdown for €28.2m (£24m), making it one of the only office investment transactions in Q3 2020, and has since invested €4.7m (£4m) in a large-scale refurbishment and repositioning project. This included securing planning consent for a communal roof terrace over-looking Westminster Abbey, a private courtyard, the installation of generous end of journey facilities, high-quality materials throughout the building and a plug and play specification across the top two floors.
In a separate transaction, RE Capital has acquired The Corner Building, 91-93 Farringdon Road, for €24.8m (£21.12m) in a joint venture with SFO Capital Partners. The 18,859ft² office building is 58% let and is situated in close proximity to Farringdon Crossrail station. RE Capital plan to reposition the building through a targeted capex programme to deliver a Grade A office asset. Vacant floors will be refurbished to CAT A+ and the roof space will be converted into a communal terrace.
Newman Leech, chief executive officer of RE Capital commented: “To secure such a compelling exit of 1 Old Queen Street, having recently achieved practical completion is a very strong endorsement of our original investment rationale, our asset management expertise and the future of high-quality offices in strong locations. We remain committed to both this part of London, having started construction at our UK flagship, Greycoat Stores, a 78,000ft² mixed-use destination development in Victoria, as well as the London office market more broadly and look forward to repositioning The Corner Building as a market-leading office.”
