Blue Fin Building Sold to JV for £415M

Time Inc UK, which bought the Blue Fin following its completion in 2007, has agreed to sell the London property for £415 million, or $639 million, to a joint venture between Oxford Properties Group and Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd. Time Inc UK (formerly IPC Media) originally announced it was putting the building up for sale this past May, expecting to sell for more than £400 million. The building is 100% leased, with Time Inc. UK remaining as the majority occupier under a lease back of approximately 160,000 square feet, and the balance being multi-let to a diversified tenant base. The deal is expected to close by the end of Q4.

Paul Brundage, Executive Vice President and Senior Managing Director, Oxford Properties Europe, said of the deal: "The Blue Fin Building is an iconic asset located in the heart of London's vibrant South Bank district and is a great addition to Oxford's European portfolio, which now stands at over C$7 billion in assets under management in London and Paris. This transaction reinforces Oxford's belief that specific emerging "live-work-play" destinations will outperform over time as a result of infrastructure improvements and shifting occupier dynamics. We are excited to enter into this transaction with Time Inc. and look forward to building a strong relationship with them in the years ahead as an important occupier and customer. This transaction represents the second joint venture in London with our partner Temasek as we look to build on our successful partnership at MidCity Place, London."

The 497,021 square foot Blue Fin, originally known as Bankside 1, was designed by Allies and Morrison and built as part of a development of the area by Land Securities. The property on the south bank of the River Thames has appeared in movies including Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger, Page Eight, and the drama Spooks. The Blue Fin Building occupies a prominent position on the Thames' South Bank at 110 Southwark Street, benefiting from excellent communication links with London Bridge, Waterloo, Blackfriars, St Paul's and Southwark stations within a 10 minute walk. Land Securities sold Bankside 2 and 3, as well as its retail holdings in the Blue Fin, to M&G Real Estate in 2013 for £315 million.

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EU Commercial Market Showing Signs of Recovery

A new article from the Wall Street Journal titled "Heavy Weather: The European property market is finally emerging from its recessionary deep-freeze, but there are still plenty of icy patches for investors to slip on" takes stock of the current commercial market conditions in Europe. The article notes that prices in the U.K. fell 44.2% between July 2007 and July 2009, according to Investment Property Databank. And according to CB Richard Ellis Group, investment volumes in Europe as a whole fell from the record high of €256 billion ($350 billion) in 2007 to €73 billion in 2009.

"Two years ago we were looking down the edge of a cliff," said Robert Noel, managing director of the London portfolio at Land Securities. "We are now buying into a recovery and there is not enough office supply to meet the demand."

"The market had been picking up, partly thanks to banks lending again," said Eric Sasson, who heads up the European operations at The Carlyle Group, the private equity firm. "But the Greece crisis put a hold to that. Having just got out of the freezing zone, banks went cold again – and some deals got delayed."

"There was a massive globalized real estate market in 2007," says Pierre Vaquier, chief executive of AXA Real Estate Investment Managers. "But then afterwards there was a 'flight to home' – as people wanted to go where they understand best."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.