River Court, the Goldman Sachs flagship building in the City of London, is to be put on the market by its Irish owners in the near future. The building is the larger of two linked office buildings that form the Fleet Street European head office for the investment bank.
The building?s features include the auditorium, restaurants and a gym, along with extensive office space, all of which comprise 425,000 square feet. Encouraged by the increase of investors in prime London property, it is reported that the asking price is likely to be more than ?300 million.
The current owners of the building, a syndicate of Irish investors, bought the building from the original constructor Itochu in 2000. The investment at the time came to ?246.5 million.
The Financial Times reported that the owners? decision to sell was most likely fuelled by the current boom in the prime London office market. Expert warnings of a future cooling period is further encouragement.
Hence, owners in London and across the UK are attempting to take advantage of the widely reported rise in property prices. Although UK property growth in general slowed during May, CB Richard Ellis reported a rise of 1.4 per cent in capital values for London offices.
Buildings like River Court have the further advantage of market demand for high quality office space in the City of London. The long-term security of income from the lease with Goldman Sachs, only to expire in 2025, offers a further factor of appeal for buyers.
