Nick Weber’s Henderson Park has made its latest splash in the London offices market with a £94m acquisition in Marylebone.
The investor has bought Woolworth House at 242-246 Marylebone Road, NW1 (pictured), from Hermes Investment Management. The sales price reflects a yield of around 5.7%.
The 123,200 sq ft, eight-storey building is fully let with French bank BNP Paribas occupying almost half of the office space. However, all leases in the building are due to expire by June 2022, meaning there is the potential for a refurbishment of the building.
The Art Deco building was designed by Richard Seifert, who also created Centre Point, Kings Reach and Tower 42, and completed in 1959.
London office debut
Last month Henderson Park made its debut in the London office market when it bought Athene Place at 66 Shoe Lane, EC4, for £101m from Commerzbank. The building is currently part of Deloitte’s Midtown campus but, like Woolworth House, is expected to be a redevelopment or refurbishment project when Deloitte exercises a break option next year.
Henderson Park was founded by Weber, the founding partner of Mount Kellett, in 2017 and the company has raised backing from Stone Point Capital, Kuwait Investment Authority and Wafra Investment Advisory Group with an initial $500m (£378.5m).
It has since made a number of high profile investments including the world’s tallest modular tower in Croydon alongside Greystar, and the €550m Westin Paris Vendôme. It has also formed a joint venture with Hines to build a portfolio of student accommodation.
Weber said: “Woolworth House is a well located and highly distinctive office building. We believe it offers potential in London’s West End office market, which has seen many office-to-residential conversions since 2008 and a constrained development pipeline.
Asset management initiatives
“Our investment in Woolworth House is underpinned by the asset management initiatives that we have identified for the building and our belief that London will retain its status as one of the world’s pre-eminent global cities and centres for international business, both of which will be key drivers of demand for the high-quality product that we intend to deliver.”
Chris Taylor, head of private markets at Hermes Investment Management, added: “The disposal of Woolworth House follows a proactive asset management strategy being implemented at the asset, which has included regearing of leaseholds within the building. Capital from this sale will be redeployed into new acquisitions that present an opportunity for added value to be achieved.”
Farmer Capital advised Hermes.
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