Hermes Real Estate sells One Finsbury Circus, EC2

Grade II listed office building acquired by Invesco for £141.5m

Article posted: 26 May 2011

Joint owners Hermes Real Estate Investment Managers Limited (HREIM), on behalf of the British Telecom & Pension Scheme (BTPS), and clients of LaSalle Investment Management have exchanged contracts on the sale of One Finsbury Circus, EC2, with Invesco Real Estate for £141.5m.

The landmark building offers 210,000 sq ft of top spec office space in the City of London, behind a Grade II Listed façade. Comprehensively refurbished according to the principles of Hermes’ Responsible Property Investment (RPI), One Finsbury Circus has a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating and won the 2009 City Heritage Award for its modern versus historical grandeur interior specification. It is occupied by international law firm Stephenson Harwood.

Chris Taylor, CEO of Hermes Real Estate Investment Managers, commented: “The sale of One Finsbury Circus as a fully priced asset is complementary to the BTPS investment strategy, where we are keen to anticipate the city office market cycle rather than react to it.  This also allows us to redeploy capital on higher yielding stock where we can apply our proven asset management capabilities.”

Andy Rofe, Managing Director, Invesco Real Estate, commented: “We are delighted to have exchanged contracts on this property, which we believe is a strong core investment for our growing pan-European fund. The excellent location, which is a key target market for the fund, strong tenant, long-term lease structure and potential for strong income return combine to provide an attractive investment, which is appealing to the fund’s investors.”

GM Real Estate acted for the joint owners. Knight Frank represented Invesco Real Estate.

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Posted by Janet