Bahrain real estate investor Blacksand has bought 51 Eastcheap, a WeWork office in the City of London formerly owned by the coworking group's investment arm, for around £70 million.
The nine-storey, 89,549-square-foot building near Monument tube station has been bought from hedge fund Polus and real estate developer Greycoat.
Deutsche Bank sold the building two years ago to Polus for £47.5 million after taking receivership control of the building from WeWork Capital Advisors, a real estate investment fund linked to WeWork. Greycoat later tied up with Polus on the asset.
The property is solely leased to coworking group WeWork under a long-term lease agreement expiring in 2039.
Financially backed by WeWork, WeWork Capital Advisors went on an investment splurge in London and globally between 2017 and 2019 before the fallout from the main group's failed attempt at a public listing precipitated a sell-off. The sale of 51 Eastcheap was its final exit from the London investment market. Ark, as WeWork's investment arm was originally known, had the ability to de-risk the occupational side of an investment opportunity by bringing in a WeWork flexible office or WeLive coliving scheme as its tenant.
Originally built in the 1980s, the property was fully refurbished in 2019 as a serviced office space.
Blacksand has been expanding across the UK recently, targeting logistics, offices, purpose-built student accommodation, hospitality and alternative assets. In July it bought supermarket chain Morrisons' regional distribution centre in Bellshill, Glasgow.
Polus declined to comment. Greycoat and Blacksand did not respond to a request for comment.