Hines closes in on Landsec’s Soho office block

Hines is nearing a deal to buy Landsec’s 7 Soho Square, W1, for more than its £74.5m guide price.

The firm has placed the 62,000 sq ft art deco property under offer.

It is leased to planning and design consultancy Barton Willmore, online travel firm TripAdvisor and flexible serviced office provider Knotel, according to Radius Data Exchange.

Around 10 offers were submitted in the first round of bidding for the property, with further competitive bidding in the second round.

The building, which Landsec refurbished in the early 2000s, is one of only a handful of properties to have been put up for sale since lockdown began in March.

In the second quarter London office investment totalled just £515m, EG’s London office market analysis has found.

The largest deal to complete in the quarter was Union Investment’s acquisition of Procession House, EC4, from Goldman Sachs and Greycoat for £140m.

Other deals that have completed include Trinova Real Estate and Chile-based Stars REI’s acquisition of 103 Mount Street, W1, for less than £80m from Meyer Bergman; and Singapore’s Sun Venture buying 1 New Oxford Street, W1, from Nuveen on behalf of the Central London Office Fund and British Airways Pension Trustees for £174m.

Hines’ decision to buy 7 Soho Square comes shortly after the firm completed the sale of The Cabot in Canary Wharf, E14, for £380m to Hong Kong-based Link Asset Management last month.

Knight Frank is advising Landsec on the deal. Landsec and Hines declined to comment.

To send feedback, e-mail louise.dransfield@egi.co.uk or tweet @DransfieldL or @estatesgazette