L&G confirms £75m One Piccadilly purchase

REAL estate investor Legal and General Property has confirmed the £75m acquistion of One Piccadilly – the office building which is home to Bank of New York Mellon and a number of leisure operators.

The deal, first reported by TheBusinessDesk.com and in the property press last month , represents an exit for Europa Capital which acquired the asset in September 2011 . The six-floor Grade-A building developed by Argent in 2003 generates annnual rental income of £4.3m.

Mark Russell, fund manager of Legal and General Property’s Managed Property Fund, said: “One Piccadilly Gardens complements the existing portfolio as we continue our rotation towards assets capable of delivering growth. As the macro-economy continues to improve, we believe that opportunities to increase rental tone in selective buildings will arise.

“The high profile of the building within central Manchester, the broad and vibrant amenity and excellent transport infrastructure continues to prove attractive to occupiers. Prevailing rents and a development pipeline that is yet to fully respond suggest that the asset is set fair to deliver growth in the short-medium term.

“Based off affordable rents and offering a number of natural lease events, we will look to undertake asset management initiatives and significantly improve the property’s sustainability credentials.”

Rob Sim, head of Northern Europe at Europa Capital, added: “We are very pleased with the success of our investment in One Piccadilly Gardens, a high profile and well located asset which we acquired three years ago and over which time we have added value through active asset management.”

Argent, the Manchester Evening News and Manchester City Council also have ground floor offices at the building, along with Kro Bar, Barburrito, Pret a Manger and Pizza Express.

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