Henderson Park sale shows demand for London offices

London offices continue to attract international investors despite the pandemic. Demand is particularly strong for prime well-let offices in good locations, as shown by the £255 million sale of Athene Place in the City of London.

Henderson Park, the Pan-European private equity real estate manager, has agreed the sale of the newly redeveloped building at 66 Shoe Lane, leased to Deloitte, to a consortium led by Wing Tai Properties, a Hong Kong-based real estate company.

“This sale underlines the ongoing appeal of prime, well-let London offices to international investors and the important role we believe they will continue to play in the daily working life of the future,” said Nick Weber, founding partner, Henderson Park.

“At the same time, this transaction allows us to conclude our business plan for Athene Place ahead of schedule, and deliver a positive return for our clients.”

Henderson Park acquired the 147,000 sq ft office in June 2018 after Deloitte vacated the building and fully refurbished and repositioned the asset to capitalise on strong demand for prime modern offices in the City, especially those with good transport links. Athene Place is near various national rail and London Underground hubs, including the new Elizabeth Line which is due to open next year. 

Building is part of Deloitte’s London campus

In November 2018 Henderson Park secured at 75,000 sq ft pre-lease, with a 15-year term, back to Deloitte, which then agreed a further pre-let for the rest of the building in October 2019. The building will form part of Deloitte’s wider London campus, as it is opposite the company’s new headquarters at 1 New Street Square.

Deloitte took possession at the end of 2020, after the refurbishment and repositioning work was completed at the end of 2020 and the building received a BREEAM Excellent sustainability certification.

“We acquired Athene Place in June 2018 after the Brexit referendum with a view to undertaking a full refurbishment to create a first class, prime new workplace that could meet the specific needs of the modern occupier both now and in the future,” said Weber. “We put a strong focus on technology, sustainability and, with features such as roof terraces and enlarged balconies providing fresh air spaces, the wellness of personnel.”

Eastdil Secured and CBRE acted for Henderson Park while Deloitte acted for Wing Tai.