Aviva Investors Property Trust has exchanged contracts for the purchase for £32.7m ($51.7,) of Skanska's prime, city-centre office development in Bristol in the west of the UK – 66 Queen Square.
The property provides 61,484 sq ft (5,711 sq m) of grade A office space, combining a new five-storey building integrated with a fully modernised and refurbished grade II listed Georgian terrace building. Construction will be completed in October 2015. The scheme is 90% pre-let at present.
Andreas Lindelöf, managing director development, Skanska UK, said: "We have secured an exceptional occupier – KPMG – for the majority of the scheme and we are delighted that Handelsbanken has taken a 10-year lease. We are also close to letting the remaining space."
The Aviva Investors Property Trust, launched in 1991, holds a diversified portfolio of UK commercial properties across different regions and sectors. The UK's first authorised property unit trust, it is now one of the largest authorised property funds in the country. Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of UK-based insurer Aviva.