Tower 42 is put on sale for £300m
TOWER 42, the city of London’s first skyscraper, has been put on sale by its owners for £300m.
After 12 years of ownership, Blackrock and Hermes want to “cash in” on the resurgence in London’s commercial property market. A shortage of office space and the weak pound has sent prices for high-end property in central London soaring over the past year.
“With significant global demand now focused upon central London offices driven by expectation of future returns, combined with a dearth of trophy assets on the market and weak sterling, the partners believe that the timing is right to market the asset,” Marcus Sperber, managing director at BlackRock, said.
In addition to the 324,000 square foot multi-let skyscraper, the Tower 42 estate includes five other commercial buildings on a 2.2 acre freehold site.
Adviser Jones Lang LaSalle is marketing the property and a completed sale is likely to be the largest in the City this year. But property prices are expected to fall in 2011 as banks begin to shed their distressed assets.