£240M City Office And £104M Loan Sold At Steep Discounts
A major City of London office block and the debt secured against another large nearby office are both close to being sold at significant discounts to previous sales prices.
Indonesian investor and developer Sinar Mas Land is in exclusive talks to buy the 242K SF 20 Old Bailey office scheme in the City for about £240M from a consortium of Korean investors led by Mirae Asset Global Investment, React News reported.
Mirae bought the building from Blackstone for £340M in 2018, using a £204M loan from Dekabank, and had been seeking to refinance it. The building is fully let on long leases to tenants, including law firm Withers and Barings Investment Services.
It is Sinar Mas’ first deal in London since 2017, when it bought 33 Horseferry Road in Victoria for £188M. It sold that building for £248M in 2022, and it still owns the Alphabeta building in the City, which it bought for £259M in 2015.
Elsewhere in the City, Korean investor Daishin is buying the debt secured against the 151K SF One Poultry office building opposite the Bank of England.
Daishin paid Bank of Ireland around 80p to the pound for the £104M loan, Bloomberg reported. Daishin is the mezzanine lender to the deal and has bought the loan to protect its position, Bloomberg said.
The building was purchased in 2018 by fellow Korean investor Hana for £185M from fund manager Aermont. The value has dropped significantly because of worries that the sole tenant, WeWork, may pull out of its lease. In that case, the owner would have to put in significant money to upgrade the building and find a new tenant.
