There are 12 central London offices now under offer at prices over £100 million with 14 having already traded in 2025, compared to the 12 over £100 million that traded in the whole of 2024, according to experts and delegates at the Expo Real conference in Munich this week.
CoStar News has compiled the list following discussions with leading participants, underlining returning confidence in liquidity in the capital's office market.
Of the 12 under offer a handful will not be reported here due to concerns over non disclosure agreements but those that are close to exchange include:
Nuveen has agreed to sell the Can of Ham office building at 70 St Mary Axe in the City for around £340 million to Capreon, the investment company of the Noé family, and alternative investment manager Hayfin Capital Management. Cushman & Wakefield and Newmark are handling the sale.
GPE is under offer to sell One Newman Street, or Oxford House, in Fitzrovia to Royal London Asset Management for around £250 million or a sub 4.5% net initial yield. CBRE and Newmark are advising GPE.
US real estate giant Hines is under offer to buy Worship Square, Wise's new headquarters by Liverpool Street Station in the City, from HB Reavis for around £185 million. CBRE and Savills are advising HB Reavis.
Hines is under offer to sell The Burlian, for close to £200 million or a 3.75% net initial yield. CoStar News understand it is talks to sell to European lottery operator Allwyn Entertainments. Knight Frank is advising Hines.
Landsec has exchanged to sell its Queen Anne's Gate, SW1, office block to Arora Group for £245 million, with a major luxury hotel makeover planned.
Aberdeen has knocked out Ares to go under offer to buy Hong Kong's "king of retail" Lai Wing-To's Standbrook House at 2-5 Old Bond Street for around £120 million.
UK real estate fund manager Frogmore and its co-investor Morgan Stanley have sold Notting Hill Gate, a prime west London estate, to Mago Capital for around £150 million.
Gruppo Romeo, the European real investor owned by Italy's Romeo family, is under offer to sell 7 Old Park Lane, a super-prime £150 million office redevelopment in Mayfair, with Oval thought to be under offer for circa £100 million.
Key sales that are also due to come to market are Nan Fung's sale of 16 Old Bailey via Savills seeking in excess of £150 million and US private investor giant Starwood Capital's sale via Savills and Eastdil Secured of St Christopher's Place, the mixed-use estate just off Oxford Street in London's West End seeking £275 million.
Speaking at Expo to CoStar News, but declining to discuss specific transactions, Richard Garside, head of central London investment, Savills, said: "We have the West End prime yield now at 3.75% and the City at 5.25% with the arrow firmly pointing down.
"Since the summer investment in core and core-plus central London offices as a comparative play to other asset classes is looking more and more good value particularly in terms of rental growth. The fact is that since 2011 in the West End and City you have seen between 4% and 5% rental growth every year. You would think that would lead to yield compression but interest rates have stayed up for longer than expected.
"The London occupier market is strong though and we are now back to debt getting more competitive for the very best core quality product with margins at 130bps and LTVs pushing up to 60%. It is true that the smaller end of the sales market is producing data and the bigger end less so but that is changing."