Malaysian-based Gamuda and UK-based investor Castleforge Partners have bought Winchester House, Deutsche Bank’s London headquarters, for £257m.
The partners have signed a sale and purchase agreement with Wessex Winchester Ltd Pt to acquire 100% equity interest in Wessex Winchester Propco Ltd, owner of the eight-storey 317,000 sq ft building, via Venta Belgarum II Ltd Pt (VB II). Gamuda’s wholly-owned Gamuda Land (Labuan) Ltd owns a 75% stake in VB II, while Castleforge’s wholly-owned partnership entity Athelstan Ltd owns the remaining 25%.
Gamuda said that post acquisition it intends to refurbish and upgrade the space into “best-in-class, top-rated environmentally sustainable ESG office space”. The company added that with Deutsche Bank’s lease due to expire in April next year it plans to secure “strong pre-lease arrangements” with quality tenants and dispose of the investment by the fifth year or earlier as part of Gamuda Land’s “quick-turnaround-project” strategy.
The group added: “Acquiring the Winchester House presents a strategic opportunity for Gamuda, as we substantially expand our property development footprint to the BREEAM Outstanding rated properties, which are few and far between in London.
“It is a compelling site in a highly sought-after location, as this commercial office project is situated in the heart of the City of London, the ‘Square Mile’ that is the financial centre of the world and increasingly a mega-technology hub of the world too.”
