3 St James Square, SW1

St James Square, London, is notorious for having achieved the highest rental level for office space in the city – £185 per sq ft for the top floor of number 7-8.

The West End of London Property Unit Trust (WELPUT) purchased 3 St James Square back in 2012 for £66m, when the building was fully let to Winchester House Property Company for a net effective rent of £57.82 per sq ft. Since then, WELPUT has managed the asset via extensive refurbishment and by letting the building to multiple tenants; the latest deal in the building in Jan 2017 was at £110 per sq ft, with the highest rent reaching £160 per sq ft.

The 2nd, part 4th and part 6th floors are currently available, with asking rents of £110 per sq ft and £95 per sq ft respectively.

WELPUT is now under offer to sell the building to Joint Treasury, a Hong Kong based real estate investment firm, for £13m, double what they paid! The deal represents a yield of under 4%.

This news was brought to you by Morgan Pryce, a specialist tenant acquisition agent with offices in Oxford Circus and the City. Morgan Pryce specialises in search, negotiation and project management and works exclusively for tenants.