Dubai World Sells Grand Buildings in London

One of the largest office investment deals in London’s West End has been carried out. One Trafalgar Square, known as Grand Buildings, has been sold for £172m, representing a yield of 5.25%. The building was sold to an unnamed Russian investor, by Istithmar, the overseas investment arm of Dubai World. Istithmar bought the building in 2005 for £155,000,000 from Credit Suisse. The purchase of the 200,000 sq ft building on the South East corner of Trafalgar Square is thought to be the Russian’s first purchase in the UK market.

Grand Buildings, on the east side of Trafalgar Square, was developed by Land Securities as one of their premier developments. It was completed in 1991. The property provides a trophy landmark located in a World Square. Grand Buildings dates back to the 1870s and includes retail outlets and office space. It provides a mixture of Grade A office accommodation together with ground floor and basement retail. The building extends to 160,000 sq ft (14,864 m2) of office with 33,500 sq ft (3,112 m2) of retail accommodation. There are also two residential flats on the top, seventh floor, and car parking for 19 cars. The majority of the building is let to high quality tenants including Enterprise Oil, Reed Elsevier and Lattice.