The offices at 70 Gracechurch St., London EC3, are let on long-term leases to XL Services (UK), while Marks & Spencer occupies a 90,000-sf store at ground level with a portion of the space underlet to Clinton Cards. The deal reflects an initial yield of 5.6%.

The Active Asset Investment Management fund was launched in 2002 and 70 Gracechurch St was its first major acquisition. The sale represents a 250% return for its investors. "I am delighted with the way this investment has performed. As a passive investor in this type of project, it is necessary for me to have complete faith in the management of the fund," Ferguson says.

The fund has completed euro 927.7 million ($1.2 billion) in deals since its launch and plans to invest up to another euro 1.4 billion ($1.9 billion) over the coming year. It looks for deals from euro 28.5 million ($37.7 million) to euro 285 million ($377 million) for buildings with strong income streams and 25-year leases.

The announcement of the Gracechurch deal follows the launch last week of Active Asset Investment Management's latest commercial property fund, set up as a joint venture with property investor and businessman Nicholas Cowell and backed by Elton John and David Bowie.