BoI buys €55.8m stake in LSE building
Its private banking arm has entered into a joint venture with GE Capital Real Estate and property company Hammerson for the 417m redevelopment of the building on behalf of private clients. GE Capital Real Estate will also hold a 25% stake in the development while the FTSE100-listed Hammerson will hold the remaining stake.
Bank of Ireland, which was advised on the deal by Jones Day and Atisreal, said the redevelopment of the 26-storey tower building will provide around 325,000 square foot of office accommodation and 7,000 square feet of retail space.
The building, which was the former home of the London Stock Exchange and which is located at Old Broad Street, adjacent to the Bank of England in the City of London, was acquired by Hammerson two years ago.
Construction began in February 2006, with completion scheduled for December 2007.
“We have been looking at the City of London for quite a while and we believe that now is the right time in the rental cycle to get involved in a speculative office development,” said Peter Collins, director of property at Bank of Ireland Private Banking. “This is a landmark site in the City in terms of location and will be a Grade A office development in an area where there is currently a severe lack of similar quality office space. This shortage of Grade A office buildings in the City combined with an improvement in the occupational market means that this redevelopment is likely to be delivered into a very strong rental market in 2007.
