M&G Prudential has backed 40 Leadenhall, EC3, nicknamed Gotham City, with a £875m funding boost.
The investment fund purchased the site through its £144bn Prudential with-profits fund from AIMCo and Nuveen Real Estate.
The site, which has struggled to get off the ground since it got the green light from the City of London’s planning committee in 2014, has planning permission for two towers of 14 and 34 storeys.
Nuveen previously paused its plans in 2016 following the EU referendum as it sought a prelet for part of the scheme before starting work.
By the end of 2017, a CC Land-led consortium was in talks to buy a majority stake in the development, which led to the start of demolition works at the site. However, this deal subsequently fell apart.
In July, EG revealed that M&G was in negotiations with Nuveen to fund plans.
Tony Brown, global head of M&G Real Estate, said: “London’s commercial property market currently offers good value relative to other capital cities, such as Paris and Tokyo, partly due to Brexit-related uncertainty.
“As there are a limited number of developments under way in London, we expect high-quality office space like this with an emphasis on green credentials and employee wellbeing to be in demand from occupiers when the scheme is completed in four years.”
Nuveen Real Estate was advised by Cushman & Wakefield.
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