The Kuwaiti real estate conglomerate, St Martins Property Group, has purchased the prestige More London development from London Bridge Holdings for a reported £1.7bn.
London Bridge originally announced it intended to refinance the Thames-side development by next summer, but when presented with a highly attractive offer which maximised the property’s value it decided “to capitalise on the opportunity”.
Designed by Foster and Partners architects — and with some parts of the 13-acre site still under construction — More London includes City Hall, the headquarters of London Mayor Boris Johnson, a sunken amphitheatre called The Scoop, office blocks, shops, restaurants, cafes, and a pedestrianised area containing open-air sculptures and illuminated water features.
In a statement the company said the sale underscores the success of London Bridge Holdings in transforming a blighted, brown field site into a vibrant and vital global business centre.
“More London today is a magnificent development of properties, home to world class tenants from both the private and public sectors. It is an important symbol of London’s position as an international business centre with morning, lunchtime and early evening footfall traffic at levels comparable to Bond Street.
“Our team of professionals has executed magnificently throughout our ownership of this unique real estate asset and with the value of More London now unlocked to us, we are well positioned to move forward to bring our ‘More’ brand to other attractive locations globally,” the statement continued.
London Bridge originally acquired the former industrial site in 1998. Its website recently boasted that More London provides its occupiers with high quality, efficient office space that is centrally situated within a vibrant new business community. A prime attraction has always been the property’s location, adjacent to Tower Bridge and opposite The Tower of London.
St Martins Property Group is the UK-based real estate investment arm of the State of Kuwait. Currently undergoing a restructuring, it is selling its smaller, older non-core properties and non-office stock in the UK and in Continental Europe, whilst actively pursuing trophy assets of £100m-plus and other lucrative investment opportunities in central London and pan-European cities.
Globally, St Martins owns close to one-million square feet of commercial property across Europe, Australasia and Japan. In Australia, it acquired 50 per cent of Melbourne’s iconic Rialto Tower, a landmark 250 metre-high office building built around two 56 and 43-floor towers.
London is a favoured hunting ground for Arab investment funds and wealthy individuals from the Persian Gulf region. Both tend to buy properties with petrodollars instead of investing oil money in their home states.
It was reported in July that Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund intended to invest as much as $5bn in British infrastructure assets over the next five years, with the Kuwait Investment Authority independently targeting existing British projects already creating cash flow and profits.
Previous Post
Scrapping RDAs was Wrong says Audit Office
