UBS Asset Management's Real Estate & Private Markets (REPM) business has completed the acquisition of Churchill House, an office building on London’s Old Street EC1, for c. €29m (£25.9m), representing a yield of 4.3%. The asset was acquired on behalf of a separate account from Discretionary Corporate Pension Fund clients of Savills Investment Management.
The attractive Grade A office was fully refurbished in 2014 to a high specification, tailored to media tenants, offering an abundance of natural light and generous floor to ceiling heights. The SKA Gold rated building comprises 26,738 ft² of space arranged over basement, ground and five upper floors and has been acquired with planning permission for an additional level. Facilities include extensive bike racks and showers, and the building has a large balcony on the sixth floor overlooking Old Street. Churchill House is multi-let to five tenants, providing a weighted average lease term of 3.5 years to lease break.
Prominently located on Old Street, the property sits in the heart of London’s Tech City hub, just west of the renowned Silicon Roundabout, while Old Street station is just a two minute walk away and Moorgate, which will imminently be served by the new Crossrail line, is only a short distance away. London’s Shoreditch area has become increasingly popular with a diverse mix of corporate occupiers in recent years, while it is firmly established as a favourite location for those operating in the TMT sector. Aside from its connectivity, workers are also drawn to the area’s wide array of cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels, making it a vibrant destination outside of working hours. Significant ongoing development and regeneration underway locally continues to strengthen its market positioning.
