Almacantar, the start-up real estate investment firm, has acquired the Marble Arch Tower office building in Central London for approximately £80 million (€91.7 million; $129.5 million), according to an announcement by the firm today.
The firm, which was founded in February 2010 by Mike Hussey, former London property portfolio manager at UK REIT Land Securities, and Neil Jones, former chief executive of Continental Europe at Grosvenor Group, made the investment just a month after completing the purchase of nearby office block Centre Point.
Almacantar has ‘exchanged contracts’ for the 166,000 square foot, 82-metre Marble Arch Tower, which overlooks Hyde Park, with Orchard Street Investment Management, the UK-focused real estate fund manager.
Hussey said: “This deal is our third project in London this year and demonstrates our long term confidence in the future of the West End market.”
Gary Felce, chief investment officer at Orchard Street Investment Management, said: “Marble Arch Tower has been a good investment for the fund producing great returns since we acquired it seven years ago. The decision to sell was taken as part of a review of the portfolio that will allow Orchard Street to focus on projects elsewhere.”
Almacantar reportedly raised €150 million of equity for its investment programme at its launch, structured as a club investment vehicle. Of the capital raised, €100 million was committed by EXOR, the investment vehicle of the Agnelli family, an Italian family business which also owns a 72 percent stake in global property services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
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