Toronto Square snapped up in £29m deal

LEEDS office development Toronto Square has been bought in a £29m deal.

M&G’s Property Portfolio fund has acquired the 88,200 sq ft building from Highcross at a yield of 7%.

Toronto Square was developed in 2010 and is let to 14 tenants.

Justin Upton, deputy fund manager of the M&G Property Portfolio, said: “There is always strong tenant demand for high quality office developments such as this and, with corporate occupiers becoming more demanding in their requirements, this acquisition provides the fund with an attractive income yield of 7% and further opportunities to drive performance via the implementation of asset management initiatives.”

Highcross completely redeveloped the property during its ownership.

Richard Pellatt, director at Highcross said: “This sale marks the successful completion of our business plan for Toronto Square. During Highcross’ ownership we have completely redeveloped the property, remodelled the entrance, extended the floorplate and added two storeys to bring the building up to a Grade A standard.

“Testament to its quality, the building has secured 14 new tenants in challenging times and is now well placed to benefit from future rental growth in an increasingly tight Leeds city centre market.”

Knight Frank represented M&G Real Estate, the real estate investment management arm of M&G Investments and Highcross was advised by CBRE.