Chinese investors dominated London's West End market in January, according to new data from Savills, investing £805 mln (€945 mln) of the £841 mln (€987 mln) spent in the city's prime downtown district, which includes Soho and Oxford Street.
The West End witnessed just six transactions in January, Savills noted in its West End Investment Watch, including three deals over £200 mln (€235 mln) from Hong Kong/Chinese equity.
In an off-market transaction and the fourth-largest West End deal in the past 12 months, CC Land Holdings acquired One Kingdom Street (pictured) in Paddington for £292 mln (€343 mln) from TH Real Estate, reflecting a 4.86% net initial yield and a capital value of £1,102 per ft2. The freehold property comprises approximately 265,000 ft2 of office accommodation arranged over nine floors and is multi-let to five tenants with a weighted unexpired term of just over eight years.
Emperor Group exchanged contracts to acquire Ampersand, 178 Wardour Street for £260m (€305 mln), reflecting a 2.91% net initial yield and a capital value of £2,896 per ft2. The property comprises almost 68,000 sq ft of office accommodation single let to King.com until August 2025 at a rent that equates to £77.50 per sq ft overall. The remainder comprises retail accommodation spanning both Wardour and Oxford Street, let to six tenants. Peterson, the vendor, forward funded Ampersand in 2013 with the developer Resolution.
The other major deal was Green Property's sale of 8 St James's Square to China's Shun Tak for £213 mln (€250 mln), at a yield of 3.70%.
According to Savills, the four Chinese deals have already surpassed five-yearly transaction averages by 28%. The advisor said that the purchase of One Kingdom Street reflects the second-largest ever transaction by Hong Kong/Chinese equity in the West End.