Ian Scott International

NEWS

Hong Kong investor snaps up Paddington office block for almost £300m

A Chinese billionaire has snapped up a Paddington headquarters building which is home to Vodafone and Statoil for almost £300m.

CC Land Holdings, a Hong Kong investment vehicle owned by property magnate Cheung Chung-Kiu, has agreed to buy the One Kingdom Street office block from a joint venture between US financial services institution TIAA and two of Sweden’s national pension funds, AP1 and AP2.

One Kingdom Street was the first building bought by the fund, which is called Cityhold Office Partnership, in 2011 for around £230m. Its sale for £292m today will cheer investors looking to see signs of growth in the London office market after June’s vote to leave the European Union.

There were fears that buyers would shy away from putting their money into offices which might be at risk of losing tenants wanting to relocate after the UK leaves the bloc. But the weakness in the pound has attracted some foreign buyers hoping to bag a deal while the exchange rate works in their favour.

One Kingdom Street comprises more than 260,000 sq ft of space over nine floors and is leased to a variety of tenants, including Vodafone, Shire, Mysis and Statoil.

TH Real Estate, the property arm of TIAA which manages the fund, is expected to reinvest the money from the sale in cities in continental Europe including Berlin, Munich, Madrid and Paris, as well as in London.

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