AshbyCapital is in the driving seat to invest in 55 Old Broad Street, after strong bidding for the £600 million development site in the City of London.
CoStar News revealed in July that Landsec had appointed Newmark and Knight Frank to handle the sale as part of its plan to dispose of £2 billion worth of offices and pivot into retail and housing.
It is understood Landsec will remain as development manager as part of the transaction, with AshbyCapital investing alongside its Middle Eastern investment backers favoured to secure the site.
Green Street News first reported on AshbyCapital's lead position.
Landsec gained consent for its plans for the site close to Liverpool Street station in 2023. The Fletcher Priest-designed plans comprise a 23-storey tower with 360,000 square feet of offices and 3,500 square feet of retail on the site of 55 and 65 Old Broad Street. The company bought the site in 2020 for £85 million and submitted the plans, which expanded the space from around 100,000 square feet, in June 2023.
The office element proposes low-carbon workspace, designed and built using sustainable methods, including retaining some of the existing building, and reusing on-site materials where possible. The plans retain the ground floor, plus a five-storey building at 65 Old Broad Street.
The development is one of a number of major office investments Landsec has brought to market as part of a strategic change of direction.
Landsec, advised by Newmark and Knight Frank, is understood be receiving strong bidding for Hill House, an £800 million office tower development on the site of a nine-storey building off Shoe Lane in the City of London. The real estate investment trust gained consent in April 2024 for the 20-storey mixed-use office building.
Landsec has also instructed Colliers to sell 123 Victoria Street in London for around £265 million. The headquarters building is occupied by fashion brand Jimmy Choo and British International Investment.
Landsec has also sold Red Lion Court, a £335 million London office development in Southwark, to alternative asset manager Cheyne Capital Management and seasoned London developer Stanhope. The sale values the land at around £45 million. Landsec gained consent in 2023 to redevelop Red Lion Court into a 230,000-square-foot office with retail and open areas with a gross development value of £335 million.
In full-year results published in May, Landsec said it was accelerating its shift away from offices towards retail and residential, pledging to recycle £2 billion of capital in the former over the next two to five years into the latter.
Landsec said it would increase investment in major retail by another £1 billion and establish a £2 billion-plus residential platform by 2030, to be funded by rotating £3 billion of capital out of offices, non-core investments and low or non-yielding pre-development assets. The group will not start any more speculative office development until its two major under-construction projects in London at Thirty High and Timber Square are substantially leased.
AshbyCapital declined to comment.
Landsec said in a statement: "Offices remain a valuable part of our portfolio. There continues to be strong demand for best-in-class spaces in the right locations across London, which we’re seeing as we progress our committed pipeline at 30 High and Timber Square, together with the recently launched MYO Kings Cross as well as workspace at Oval Works, which will complete in the coming weeks.
"We recently set out a new strategic focus of the business which will guide our approach for the next five years. As part of this, we are reviewing the market to determine the best opportunities, whether through sales or partnering with third party capital. We won’t comment on market speculation while this process is ongoing."