Sol Zakay’s Topland Group has sold the freehold interest in 10 Canons Way, Harbourside, Bristol for £95.5 million to a South Korean investor, advised by Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM), law firm Ashurst and Korean Asset Manager WWG.
The landmark office building, one of the largest in the city, overlooks Bristol’s Floating Harbour and was developed in 2007 for Clerical Medical Insurance. The Grade A office building totals circa 176,611 sq ft over five floors with an impressive central atrium. The property is entirety let to Scottish Widows Limited until November 2032. The property forms part of the Lloyds Banking Group’s regional hub, alongside Canon House I & II, which houses around 4,000 employees.
Mark Kingston, Managing Director at Topland Group plc, said: “This was an opportunistic sale where we were approached off market and decided to take advantage of a sale before year end.”
David Johnson, Partner at KFIM commented: “This is our fourth successful transaction on behalf of our Korean clients. The dynamic Bristol market has, we believe, good long term performance characteristics. In addition, the investment grade tenant covenant and length of income provided by Canons Way has allowed us to take advantage of the current arbitrage between property yields and the cost of borrowing to provide our client with a significantly enhanced income return. We continue to seek assets with similar investment characteristics both here in the UK and on the continent.”
Nick Allan, Investment Partner at Cushman & Wakefield, who acted on the sale, commented: “We are delighted to have advised Topland Group on the sale of this significant transaction, one of the largest of its kind in the UK this year. The Bristol market continues to flourish with significant occupier demand, rental growth and rapidly reducing supply making the dynamics for investment in the city very compelling. Bristol’s growing significance with international investors continues and this represents the third significant transaction with South Korean investors we have been involved with this year.”
Cushman & Wakefield acted for the vendor, Topland Group plc, in the disposal of 10 Canons Way, Bristol. CBRE acted for KFIM.
