Deloitte sells Can of Ham site to US pension fund
AN AMERICAN pension fund has bought the site of the proposed Can of Ham building at St Mary Axe from the administrator of previous owner Targetfollow.
The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association – College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) is believed to have paid Deloitte £20m for the plot.
Targetfollow, whose development arm fell into administration in October, had planning permission for an 18-storey building designed by Foggo Associates, dubbed the Can of Ham for its distinctive shape.
TIAA-CREF has not revealed whether it will modify the design of the building, but it already owns the adjacent site at 60 St Mary Axe.
The association, which invests for 3.5m academics’ and doctors’ pension funds, did not return calls for comment yesterday.
Deloitte declined to comment. The administrator is selling Targetfollow’s property portfolio to help pay £700m worth of debts owed to Lloyds, after owner Ardeshir Naghshineh lost his fight to keep the firm afloat.
Deloitte was last month in talks with Almacantar, the property start-up run by former Land Securities star Mike Hussey, over selling the Grade II-listed Centre Point tower in the West End for £120m.