A joint venture between Westcore Properties and Angelo, Gordon & Co has purchased a $27.8 million loan secured against 104,000 square feet of office space in the City of London.
It is the 21st joint purchase between the two firms since they started investing alongside one another, according to an announcement of the deal. The seller of the loan, a UK bank, was not disclosed.
The three-building portfolio is almost 90 percent occupied. While the assets have been refurbished over recent years, the partners said they would use their asset management capabilities to help let the vacant space and agree further leases to occupiers when those of the current inhabitants expire.
Marc Brutten, founder and chairman of Westcore Properties, said the deal demonstrates that some UK banks are starting to be willing to offload real estate loans. He said: “Banks in the United Kingdom are beginning to creatively manage their loan books.”
“Loan sales by banks to financial investors in the United Kingdom have been all but non-existent. This deal signifies a coming shift and re-structuring of lenders’ balance sheets. We will be actively seeking similar opportunities.”
There has been few sales by UK banks of loans to private equity real estate platforms. One other rare example was Royal Bank of Scotland’s $44 million sale of 13 logistics units across the UK to Rockspring Property Investment Managers last November.
Westcore has invested more than $2.2 billion in office, industrial and retail properties in Europe and the US since it was founded in 2000. It has offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Geneva and London.
Angelo, Gordon & Co has approximately $21 billion of capital under management and operates from offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo.
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