Deka bags Cannon Place for £485 million

The Frankfurt-based asset manager has picked up a prime central London mixed-use asset for about £15m less than its original asking price of £500m. 

Deka Immobilien, the Frankfurt-based asset manager, has acquired London’s Cannon Place building for £485 million ($622 million; €578 million) from US real estate powerhouse Hines.

The eight-story property, which is located in the City of London, provides more than 418,000 square feet of office and retail space and was constructed above Cannon Street Underground Station. It was developed in 2011 by Hines in partnership with Network Rail, the UK railway operator.

As of November last year, Cannon Place had been fully-let to seven tenants, including law firm CMS Cameron McKenna and Threadneedle Asset Management, and had a weighted average unexpired term of more than 18 years.

It is understood that Hines and Deka agreed the transaction in an off-market deal.

“This prized landmark, core City of London development has excellent transport links, a rich mix of tenants and unusually long income,” said John Heaver, director at Savills, which represented Deka on the purchase.

“Hines is incredibly proud of this project which was borne out of high quality architecture and engineering solutions. The development attracted a prestigious occupier line up which is testament to the space created and its location in the heart of the City,” said Ross Blair, senior managing director and head of Hines UK.

Deka has yet to comment on the deal.

Hines put Cannon Place up for sale in September 2015, with a £500 million asking price. Taiwanese firm Fubon was in the driving seat to buy the asset in April last year but pulled out following last summer’s EU referendum.

The deal comes only a month after industry observers suggested the £1.15 billion sale of London’s ‘Cheesegrater’ skyscraper could trigger a rush of sales in the Square Mile to foreign capital.

Savills represented Deka on the acquisition, while CBRE represented the seller.