The UK headquarters of telecoms giant BT has been acquired by a subsidiary of Citigroup and a private investor in a £38.5m deal.
The eight storey, One Sovereign Street building in the city centre has been on the market since June, with £40m being sought. Consultancy Allsop acted for Citi Private Bank and CBRE for the vendor, Artmax, in the exchange of ownership for the 139,079 sqft freehold property.
It was purpose built for BT and the communications firm currently occupies the triangular building on a low rent of £19.50 per sqft, with prime Leeds rents currently achieving £36 per sqft according to Allsop. BT is the sole tenant for a further 12 years and Allsop say there are RPI-linked rent reviews due in 2025 and 2030 and an opportunity to further drive rental value through refurbishment.
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Dale Johnstone, partner at Allsop, said: “It is a very interesting time in the market for overseas investors wanting to access high-quality, institutional-grade stock at significant discounts to historical averages. Our client base is very active at the moment, with many looking for all-equity opportunities with a view to adding an element of debt at a later stage as and when borrowing rates come down.”
The acquisition follows Allsop’s recent expansion of its commercial investment team in the North of England with the hire of Richard Brooke, who joined the consultancy as partner from Cushman & Wakefield and is based in Allsop ‘s Leeds office.
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
