23 October 2015

Axa IM Real Assets completes £29m London purchase

Axa Investment Managers - Real Assets has completed the acquisition of 182-184 High Holborn, London, on behalf of clients for about £29m (€39.4m/$44.7m).

Axa IM - Real Assets plans to refurbish the building with Morgan Capital Partners acting as development manager.

This Covent Garden asset is currently fully occupied by a single tenant until the fourth quarter of 2016. When the lease expires, AXA IM - Real Assets will undertake a comprehensive refurbishment to capitalise on the increasing demand for modern office space in the popular midtown location.

The French insurer's investment management arm said the transaction "is directly in line with Axa IM - Real Assets' value-add investment strategy, which is focused on office, retail, logistics, hotel and alternative real estate assets in Europe's key real estate markets."

According to Huw Stephens, head of UK Transactions, real assets, "182-184 High Holborn is another strong addition to our Central London portfolio and takes the completed value of our investment programme to about £1.87bn since the beginning of 2015, further demonstrating our confidence that the robust fundamentals of London's economy provide opportunities for us to identify, secure and create value for our clients."