27 September 2006 - Macquarie Global Property Advisors (MGPA) a private equity real estate fund management company has sold Chancery Exchange, 10 Furnival Street to Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust for £58.75 million.

The price equates to an initial yield  of  3.09% rising to approximately 4.4% once the remaining accommodation is let and a capital value of £8,184 per sq m (£760 per sq ft).

Chancery Exchange is a 7,591 sq m (81,706 sq ft) Grade II listed prime quality office building located in the Midtown London market.  It was acquired by a joint venture between the MGPA’s Global Fund I and City and Provincial, a well known London based development company.

The property was fully redeveloped to provide the highest quality modern air conditioned office space behind the original retained façade and period rooms.  Ranging over basement, lower ground, ground and four upper floors the accommodation has been well received in the current market. The building is currently 76% leased to quality tenants including Macfarlanes and AYH plc.

Andrew Wood, Chief Operating Officer of MGPA said, “This has been an excellent investment for the Fund.  It was acquired for the redevelopment and leasing opportunities it presented and over time has benefited from the improving market conditions. This investment has played to the core strengths of MGPA’s approach to real estate investment.”

In September 2005, MGPA closed a second global property fund with commitments of approximately US$1.3 billion, giving it over US$5 billion in buying power to invest throughout Europe and Asia.

The Fund has already invested in 11 properties in Europe including a pan-European portfolio of office and logistics properties, office properties in Warsaw and Paris and a logistics development company in France. 

“We continue to see exciting investment opportunities throughout Europe and we anticipate making further acquisition announcements in the near future,” said Mr Wood. 

Allsop, Property Consultants advised Macquarie.