Blackstone Paying $500M+ For London Property

LONDON—Blackstone has completed the acquisition of 125 Old Broad Street in London for $543 million (£320M) from Brookfield Property Partners.

The 330,000 square-foot commercial building is being acquired as part of Blackstone's Core Plus Strategy. 125 Old Broad Street is positioned in the heart of the City of London. Its major tenants are DTZ, King & Spalding, Gide Loyrette Nouel, Landmark and Renaissance Re.

Brookfield acquired its initial 50% equity share of 125 Old Broad Street as part of the acquisition of office assets from Hammerson plc in June 2012. In October 2013, Brookfield took full ownership of the development after acquiring the remaining 50% stake from GE Real Estate – Kennedy Wilson joint venture.

“This is our second investment in London this year within our Core Plus Strategy following our acquisition of Alban Gate,” said Ken Caplan, head of European real estate at Blackstone. “We continue to believe strongly in London across our real estate platform. We want to thank Brookfield for the opportunity to acquire such a high quality asset.”

Martin Jepson, president and chief operating officer of Brookfield Property Partners' European Office Division added: “This transaction is a great deal for both Brookfield and Blackstone. 125 Old Broad Street is a top quality asset with long lease tenants and a full and fair price has been agreed. The proceeds of this sale will be reinvested into our significant city development program now well underway.”