Commuters and travelers walk beneath the departures board at Waterloo train station in London (file). The deal to sell the two office buildings is the largest ever in London’s South Bank district, where rents have risen as a lack of space and higher rents force some occupiers to move out of London’s West End.
Bloomberg/London
A venture between Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co and Canary Wharf Group agreed to sell two office buildings in London’s South Bank district to Almacantar for more than £550mn ($857mn).
Almacantar, led by the former Land Securities executive Mike Hussey, is buying the buildings near Waterloo railway station before their completion in 2018. One of them will be leased by a unit of Royal Dutch Shell and occupiers will be sought for the other.
“The area around Waterloo Station has the potential to grow into one of the best mixed-use destinations in London,” Hussey, who used to be in charge of Land Securities’ London real estate business, said in the statement.
The deal is the largest ever in London’s South Bank district, where rents have risen as a lack of space and higher rents force some occupiers to move out of London’s West End. Rents for the best office buildings in South Bank are about £57.50 a square foot compared with £117.50 in Mayfair and £85 in Soho, according to broker Jones Lang LaSalle.
Qatari Diar and Canary Wharf agreed to buy the land plot for £300mn, according to a July 2011 statement. The Qatari Investment Authority and Brookfield Property Partners gained control of Canary Wharf Group earlier this year.
