Swiss Life-owned Mayfair Capital has walked away from its £109m purchase of 3 Bunhill Row, EC1, from Saudi Arabian investor Alrajhi Invest.
The 101,500 sq ft property, developed by Helical, is let to Trowers & Hamlins.
The sale price represented a 4% yield.
Manafea Holding acquired the property in 2011 for around £80m, reflecting a yield of less than 5.5%, from Henderson Global Investors, but the business was merged with Mohammad AbdulAziz Al Rajhi & Sons Holding Co in 2015 to become Mohammad AbdulAziz Al Rajhi & Sons Co, which is today known as Alrajhi Invest.
It is owned by the heirs of Sheikh Mohammad Bin AbdulAziz Al Rajhi.
Giles King, fund director at Mayfair Capital, said: “The deal was agreed pre-Covid-19 and we did not feel comfortable proceeding at the initial price offered as we felt the downside risks had become greater during the crisis and there is much uncertainty surrounding the UK property market.
“While the underlying fundamentals in the central London market remain sound, the short-term risks and the lack of visibility on the outlook for the next few months gave us reason to pause.”
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