The owner of the Gherkin is considering a sale which could value the iconic building at £1bn.
The building is owned by Safra Group, controlled by Brazilian banking billionaire Joseph Safra.
A spokesperson for J Safra Real Estate said: “The Gherkin is a unique real estate asset and is not for sale.” However, it is understood that GM Real Estate is reviewing options on behalf of the owners following unsolicited offers.
Last month it was reported that Hong Kong-headquartered soy sauce manufacturer Lee Kum Kee had made an approach to buy the building, but talks with the company are understood not to be ongoing at present.
A sale of the 516,000 sq ft trophy office tower at 30 St Mary Axe, EC3 – one of London’s most recognisable landmarks – at £1bn would reflect a yield of below 3%. It would also see Safra make a near 50% profit on its investment in just three years, having paid £700m for the building in 2014.
The Gherkin was sold by receivers at Deloitte having previously been owned by IVG and Evans Randall. At that time, insolvency procedures were undertaken after Swiss franc-denominated debt held against the building appreciated and could not be serviced by rent paid in sterling.
Since Safra bought the building, the building’s rental performance has increased. At the time of purchase, some tenants were paying as little as £40 per sq ft. New leases are now being signed at more than £90 per sq ft. Tenants in the multi-let building include pension fund Standard Life and law firm Kirkland & Ellis.
The Foster and Partners-designed building was completed in 2003 on the site of former Baltic Exchange, which was destroyed by an IRA bomb in 1992.
A roaring investment market for trophy assets in London, in part fuelled by the devaluation of sterling following the result of EU referendum, has seen Hong Kong buyers in particular become highly active over the past year.
C C Land completed the £1.15bn purchase of the Leadenhall Building − more commonly known as the Cheesegrater − at 122 Leadenhall Street, EC3, last month from Oxford Properties and British Land.
The capital value of that deal was close to £1,900 per sq ft − almost exactly the same as the Gherkin, based on a £1bn valuation.
In an exclusive interview with EG earlier this week, C C Land deputy chairman Dickie Wong said the Hong Kong-listed firm was eager to buy more substantial trophy buildings in the capital.
The wave of interest for trophy assets has also seen Canary Wharf Group put up for sale its 50% stake in 20 Fenchurch Street, EC3, commonly known as the Walkie Talkie, for £600m.
Rob Noel, chief executive of Land Securities, which owns the other half of the 688,000 sq ft building, has said that it would consider selling its stake should the right offer be made.
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