Rumours of a possible acquisition have circulated in recent weeks, but it has now been made official that the investment firm has taken control of the Windsor House site in a deal worth approximately £23.35 million.
The building is located on St James’ Street in the heart of London’s West End, one of the most expensive places to rent office space in the world, and its new owner is keen to take advantage of rising rents across the capital.
See examples of offices that are for rent in St James’s here
A total of roughly 25,000 square feet of grade-A office space will be established at the site once all relevant redevelopment work is complete, while a new pub and several retail outlets are also set to be accommodated.
Aberdeen Asset Management was the selling party in the arrangement, and Lothbury was acting on behalf of its pension-based property trust, Property Week reports.
Lothbury director Adam Smith said: “This property offers a rare opportunity to acquire a prime freehold building in the heart of St James’s.
“The timing of the development enables Lothbury to capitalise on the supply shortage of new grade A offices in Mayfair and St James’s and the strong office rental growth forecast over the next three years.”
London’s West End was recently overtaken by Hong Kong as the city with the world’s most expensive grade-A office space by rental value, according to the latest data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield.
Editor’s notes: Since this article was published, Hong Kong and the West End have consistently swapped places as the most expensive places in the world to rent office space.
As seen in the Editor’s notes of this article, the Central District in Hong Kong was the most expensive place in the world to rent office space in 2022.
Followed by Midtown Manhattan, and London’s West End took 3rd place.
In 2026, Savills found that the West End is the most expensive location for office space in 2025, with a net effective cost of $336.65 per square foot per annum.
Hong Kong was second at $227.68 per square foot, Midtown New York was third at $200.30 per square foot, and the City of London was fourth at $196.94.