Hines’ E290m (£196m) European Value Added Fund has revealed its maiden acquisition in the City Of London
The fund has acquired the 93,708/sq ft (8,705/sq m) Gartmore House in Fenchurch Place from a syndicate of private investors for a sum in the region of around £52m. The purchase price reflects a net initial yield of around 6%.
The five-storey building, which sits directly above London’s Fenchurch Street mainline rail station, is let to Gartmore Investment Management until 2012. It is the fifth property to be bought by the fund within the last 12 months.
Andrew Reynolds, Hines UK Director, said: ‘Gartmore House is located in a thriving business district within the City of London where demand for quality office space is increasing. We are keen to work with Gartmore to ensure its future requirements are met.’
Hines entered the European market in Berlin in 1991. Since then, the firm has developed projects in a host of European cities including Berlin, London, Madrid, Moscow, Milan, Paris, Prague, and Warsaw. Its European portfolio consists of 40 projects totaling more than 12.1m/sq ft (1.1m/sq m).
The company also announced that it had hired Anthony Havelock, formerly of ING Real Estate, to head up an acquisitions drive in the UK on behalf of the Hines European Value Added and Core Funds.