Almacantar has completed the £550 million forward purchase of One and Two Southbank Place from Braeburn Estates, the joint venture between Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar, in the South Bank’s largest ever property transaction.
Southbank Place is part of Braeburn’s redevelopment of the five-and-a-half acre Shell Centre site which was recently given the go-ahead after a legal challenge against the scheme failed. The two buildings will provide a combined total of 572,616 sq ft of Grade A office space when they are completed in 2018.
One Southbank Place is already fully let to Shell for 20 years and consists of 272,938 sq ft of office space along with two ground floor retail units. Two Southbank Place is a 297,678 sq ft speculative development that Almacantar will market to potential occupiers.
Canary Wharf and Qatari Diar will retain full responsibility for the construction and delivery of the buildings.
Commenting on the deal Mike Hussey, Chief Executive of Almacantar, said: “One and Two Southbank Place is a worthy addition to our portfolio of high quality assets.
“We feel that the area around Waterloo Station has the potential to grow into one of the best mixed use destinations in London and we are excited to be working with Shell and Braeburn in overseeing the transformation of the area.”