Hong Kong investor CK Asset Holdings' sale of 5 Broadgate, Swiss bank UBS's landmark groundscraper in London, for £1.21 billion, is the largest in London since the sale of the Walkie Talkie in 2017 and the largest non-tower deal - a landmark transaction at any time and for that reason an obvious choice for the CoStar Impact Award for London sale/acquisition of the year.
The building was bought by the National Pension Service of Korea, advised by LaSalle Investment Management, and JLL.
CK was advised by Colliers' teams in Hong Kong and London. Developed in 2015 with a BREEAM Excellent rating, the freehold Grade-A building 5 Broadgate comprises 732,876 square feet of offices and is fully let to UBS.
CK Lau, managing director of Colliers, Hong Kong, said: “This is a landmark deal for Colliers. It reflects our ability to close large scale real estate transactions, especially for our clients looking to invest in and dispose of cross-border opportunities. Our global platform is structured to facilitate these kinds of deals, and I look forward to further collaboration between our experts in Hong Kong and London."
About the project: The acquisition of the distinctive silver building at Liverpool Street's Broadgate campus is one of the largest office sales in the capital and completed just before investor appetite became more depressed in the second half of 2022.
CoStar News first reported NPS, with LaSalle IM, was a likely buyer ahead of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority at the beginning of November 2021 in a bellwether for the capital's office market as it looked to shake off tough times during the pandemic lockdowns.
British Land and GIC sold 5 Broadgate outright to a subsidiary of Hong Kong investor CK Asset Holdings, formerly known as Cheung Kong, for £1 billion in 2018.
What the judges said: Compton's founder Shaun Simons said the award had been a really tough one to call as all the deals considered were very impressive. "Sometimes it's not about size but given it's very rare to transact real estate in excess of £1 billion I deemed this to be a defining reason for my nomination."
Derwent London director Emily Prideaux said: "CK Asset Holdings timed this sale to perfection, crystalising a significant profit. Pricing would likely be 100 basis points softer in today’s market."
They made it happen: Tony Horrell, chief executive officer, UK and Ireland, Colliers; Andrew Thomas, head of international, capital markets, London offices, Colliers; Fraser Campbell-Wilson, director, central London markets, JLL.
