Exclusive: Asian buyer nears £425m deal for Commerzbank HQ
Commerzbank’s London HQ is set to be sold in a deal worth almost £500m to an undisclosed Asian buyer later this week, City PM understands.
An agreement for 30 Gresham Street, which was put on the market by Samsung Life Insurance earlier in the summer, is reportedly nearing its final stages, as the burgeoning Asian demand for commercial buildings in the Square Mile shows no sign of letting up.
Situated behind Guildhall and a street away from the Bank of England, the Commerzbank HQ, which shares its 400,000 square feet of property with asset manager Investec, is thought to fetch £425m according to sources close to the matter.
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The expected sale of 30 Gresham Street, which has been carried out by CBRE and Knight Frank, will come only a week after South Korea’s National Pension Service snapped up the new Goldman Sachs European headquarters for £1.2bn.
Investment from Korea has largely driven the City's commercial property surge in the last six months, with a lower pound, favourable domestic conditions and a growing desire among Korean buyers to diversify their portfolios making the Square Mile an attractive opportunity.
According to recent Knight Frank statistics, in the first half of 2018 roughly £5.6bn of international capital was invested in the London commercial real estate market, making it the world’s most active real estate market for global cross border capital.
Hong Kong was second with £5bn and Paris third with £1.9bn.
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Commenting on the figures recently, head of Knight Frank’s capital markets Nick Braybrook said: "Despite the political turmoil surrounding the UK with Brexit, London is once again the most liquid real estate market in the world. It is more popular as a home for international investment than Paris Central, Manhattan, Munich and Frankfurt combined."
Braybrook added: "Asian real estate investors continue to be the largest and one of the most important global capital exporters with South Korea and Singapore more active than previously. The largest five deals in the market this year have all involved Asian capital and this trend looks set to continue for the foreseeable future."
All parties declined to comment.