Several hundred thousand square feet of central London office space are involved in the agreement, which will be worth close to £557 million and regards an office building in Bishops Square.
Benefiting most from the acquisition will be the UK-based property group Hammerson, which developed the relatively new office space through a joint venture with the Oman Investment Fund over the course of 2005.
The joint venture is three-quarters owned by Hammerson and the City of London office space is reportedly well populated, with the local law firm Allen & Overy as its primary tenant.
Peter Reilly, head of JP Morgan Asset Management’s European Real Estate Group, said: “We remain bullish on investing in high-quality, well-tenanted office properties located throughout Europe’s most important cities and this acquisition represents a further expansion of our funds’ core property portfolio in Europe.”
Bloomberg has been reporting on the story today and has itself recently revealed plans to establish a new European headquarters in central London office space. The media company agreed on a deal to acquire a 3.2-acre site in the City, where two new office buildings look set to be established over the course of the next five years.
Office space in the City of London is among the most sought-after in Europe, while similar real estate in the West End is the most expensive in the world, according to data compiled by the commercial property analysts Cushman & Wakefield.
Editor’s notes: As of May 2023, Allen & Overy remained in occupation at One Bishops Square, however, it was announced in November 2021 that the law firm would exercise its break option in 2027.
It was revealed in British Land’s financial results that the landlord had agreed on a deal whereby Allen & Overy would rent 254,000 sq ft at 2 Broadgate from 2027.
The law firm currently rents 500,000 square feet at One Bishops Square so it will be a considerable downsizing and will involve moving 1,800 people in phases during the winter of 2026-27.
Allen & Overy advised that the move to 2 Broadgate will contribute to an estimated 80% reduction in the firm’s annual London office carbon emissions.