Investec and Credo buy Carlton House Terrace

Darfield Investment, which is a joint venture between Investec GLL Special Opportunities Fund and Credo's Armstrong Management Holdings, has bought the 90,720 sq ft building in St James's from Hermes, as tipped by Property Week on 12 June 2009.

The building is let for a further 11 years to Anglo American Services (UK) Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Anglo American. The site also includes a self-contained residential block with 14 apartments let to the City of Westminster until 2073.

Investec Property Investments is a South African real estate investor and a division of Investec Bank. It has recently extended into the UK, moving a senior team from Johannesburg to Investec offices in Gresham Street, London. The Investec GLL Global Special Opportunities Fund is jointly managed by Investec Bank and GLL Real Estate Partners, the Munich-headquartered global real estate fund manager.

Credo is a privately owned wealth management business based in London. Its real estate division manages a commercial property portfolio in Europe and the UK in excess of £500m Credo’s funds invest in direct commercial property across all sectors.

Robin Magid at Investec Property Investments said: ‘The United Kingdom was an obvious place for Investec to extend its property business into. We have an established specialist banking business in London, our South African clients are seeking investment in the United Kingdom and with the recent repricing we are starting to see value in the commercial property market. This transaction is a good example of our business taking advantage of opportunities presented by the economic downturn.’