Abu Dhabi Firm Closes Deal On New Scotland Yard Building After Two-Year Delay
Abu Dhabi Financial Group has Brexit to thank for the discount it received on a two-year-old deal for London's New Scotland Yard that finally closed this week.
ADFG agreed to grab the tower—formerly London's police force headquarters—for $451M back in 2014. The deal closed Monday when 90% of the agreed-upon fee was paid to the Metropolitan Police; the other 10% was paid when the deal was first reached, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Over the course of the two-year delay, during which time the police force was relocating to a new space—sterling fell 22.7% against the United Arab Emirates dirham in large part because the pound plummeted to a 31-year low after the Brexit vote. The drop in sterling value has spurred major bargain property hunting in the UK, especially for investors who had agreed to buy property prior to the vote.
New Scotland Yard is under redevelopment in Westminster and will include six buildings of high-end condos, offices and shops, all estimated to be complete by 2021. [WSJ]
