The Coal Pension Fund, managed by LaSalle Investment Management and selling through CB Richard Ellis, received 19 offers for the 2.25-acre freehold island site between Oxford Street and Cavendish Square last Thursday. The site incorporates more than 200,000 sf of offices, the Bhs department store, nine Oxford Street shops and the London College of Fashion.
The next day it entered exclusive negotiations with Lancer, advised by GVA Saxon Law, instead of calling for a second round of bids. Other bidders included billionaire Philip Green, the Reuben brothers, Great Portland Estates, Land Securities, British Land, Golfrate and David Arnold. Derek Quinlan, who earlier this year bought the Knightsbridge estate for euro 801 million ($939 million), did not bid.
Richard Womack, who is handling the sale at CBRE, said: "This is obviously a good price, but that reflects the premium nature of the property. It has fantastic potential from an asset management, reconfiguration and redevelopment point of view." The Abu Dhabi royal family bought the Berkeley Square Estate in 2001 for euro 467 million ($548 million).
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