London,
13
May
2019
|
14:24
Europe/London

Royal London completes on 25 Soho Square

Royal London Asset Management has purchased 25 Soho Square from Aviva Investors for £75.35 million.

25 Soho Square is a rare garden square freehold asset situated in the heart of Soho, 100m from the Elizabeth Line at Tottenham Court Road and the planned interchange with Crossrail II.

The 44,000 sq ft, Grade A office building was comprehensively refurbished and extended in 2012 by award-winning architect, Buckley Gray Yeoman, and provides substantial terraces on five of the floors. Multi-let to five tenants, including Palantir Technologies, the property provides a balanced income stream with immediate reversion on settlement of outstanding rent reviews.

Keith Miller, Senior Fund Manager and Head of Offices, Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) commented: “25 Soho Square perfectly fits our strategy of buying best-in-class buildings in prominent central London locations. Occupier demand for Soho is strong as evidenced by the leasing success at our redevelopment of 6 Warwick Street at rents in excess of £100 psf. Our outlook for the market remains positive and we believe Soho will continue to outperform.’

David Diemer, Head of UK Balanced Funds (Aviva), commented, ‘Since acquiring 25 Soho Square in 2010, we have undertaken a number of asset management initiatives, including a comprehensive refurbishment to produce a best-in-class office building. Having delivered on our business plan, we decided that this is the appropriate time in both the asset and the market cycle to exit, crystallising the significant value uplift created over our hold period. We will continue to focus our investment strategy in our target locations where we believe we have the opportunity to add value on behalf of our investors.’

CBRE advised RLAM and JLL acted for Aviva Investors.