Aidan Brooks, a Limerick based property developer has bought the world headquarters of consumer goods giant Unilever in London for a reported €300m. Brooks runs a property investment vehicle called Sloane Capital, which bought the building on Victoria Embankment, the Sunday Business Post reports.
Brooks, a 34-year-old self made millionaire, is probably not the only shareholder in Sloane Capital, the paper says, although the identity of the other shareholders is not known.
Brooks beat off German insurance giant CGI, property company British Land and a number of banks including Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland to secure the property, it says.
It is the largest price ever paid by an Irish developer for a UK property.
Under the terms of the deal, Sloane Capital will buy the building for around €300m and Unilever will take a 25-year lease with fixed annual rental uplifts. The initial yield is around 5.75pc.
Brooks has been busy in the London market for a number of years. Among his properties are the Chanel, Bvlgari and Asprey stores on Bond Street, estate agent Knight Frank´s headquarters in Mayfair and the Home Office building in Westminster.
