The REIT has bought One Carter Lane and Two Old Change Court for the price of £75 million.
Together, the purchases comprise 125,844 square feet of office space, most of it occupied by the US investment giant Goldman Sachs.
The investment bank’s lease runs out in 2018, though they have the option to break it in 2013.
A statement from the company said: “The transaction reflects a net initial yield of 7.33 per cent and, initially, will be financed out of existing cash resources. Leverage may be sought following completion to enhance the cash yield further.”
Martin McGann, the London & Stamford Finance Director, told Dow Jones that should this happen, the office space would be completely refurbished and rented out again.
Currently, demand for Grade A office space in London is rising as the economy recovers and the financial services sector begins to expand once more.
London & Stamford Chairman Raymond Mould said: “Central London continues to show signs of economic growth and we are delighted to have acquired this prime property…at a time when there is forecast to be a shortage of good quality buildings during a period of strong rental growth in the City.”
Recent research has forecast that office space in the capital will become scarcer and more expensive over the coming years.
A BNP Paribas report predicted that over the next two years, banks will require an extra 1.6 million square feet of office space – the equivalent of four times the amount of available office space for rent in The Shard
London and Stamford is the parent undertaking of London & Stamford Property Limited, which was listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange on 7th November 2007.
Editor’s notes: In 2013, Goldman Sachs, which occupied 97 per cent of the building, exercised its break clause.
Also in 2013, two deals were agreed with the Nordic bank SEB and the investment firm MFS International. The two occupiers agreed to rent a combined 70,000 square feet at around £60 per square foot.
As of June 2023, the two occupiers remained at the property.
Between 2013 and 2015, London & Stamford and Metric Property merged in an £830m deal to create LondonMetric Property.
As of June 2023, LondonMetric Property owned 264 properties in the UK; however, One Carter Lane and Two Old Change Court were not part of the portfolio.
As of June 2023, Goldman Sachs lists its London office address as Plumtree Court, 25 Shoe Lane, London EC4A 4AU on its corporate website.
As of August 2026, Goldman Sachs was still in occupation at Plumtree Court.
At the same time, LondonMetric Property’s portfolio consisted of 680 assets, with only 1 per cent of those comprising offices and life science assets.