Lloyd's Of London HQ Sold To Chinese

The landmark City headquarters of the Lloyd's of London insurance market has been sold to a Chinese insurance company in a ?260m deal.

The famous glass-and-steel construction - designed by Richard Rogers and opened in 1986 - had been owned by the German asset management fund CommerzReal, which bought the building in 2005 for ?231m.

Lloyd's lease on the site in One Lime Street expires in 2031.

Jon Crossfield, a central London director of Savills, which handled the latest transaction to Ping An, said: "This is a potentially landmark transaction, given it is the first by a Chinese insurance company overseas.

"It is a high-profile and confident entry to the market for them and further illustrates the dominance of overseas investors in London at present."

Roland Holschuh, a board member of CommerzReal, said: "We are delighted with the transaction and it has been a major success for our investors.

"The current liquidity and investor demand within the London market presented an ideal time for us to seek an exit in line with our original business plan."

Humbert Pang, head of the China division at Gaw Capital Partners, which advised on the sale, added it was "seeing more opportunities to assist Chinese institutional investors going overseas."

The Lloyd's building, which took eight years to construct, is noted for its futuristic design which includes service features such as pipes and lifts on its exterior.

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Source: http://news.sky.com/story/1112919

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