Active Investment Management, a new celebrityproperty syndicate, has bought the freehold of 70 Gracechurch Street in London for £150 million ($240.5 million) and agreed to lease it back to XL at £50 per sq ft ($80 per sq ft).
XL only bought the property last month from Marks & Spencer, which occupies the ground and first floors, for £114.7 million ($183.9 million).
The deal reflects the surge in interest among wealthy individuals keen to invest in property. Although the city office and retail market is sluggish, private funds believe the market may have turned and that properties bought now are likely to realise an attractive return.
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