Sales and deals demonstrate the increasing strength of the market in high-profile space, reports Bob Serafini
More than £100m of high profile commercial property in Scotland is under offer as investors target city centre office schemes.
Real estate fund manager Moorfield Group has emerged as the front runner for the trio of Atlantic Quay office buildings in Glasgow being sold for offers over £62.5m through Savills by M&G Real Estate. A sale at that level would reflect a net initial yield of over eight per cent.
Assuming the deal goes through, this is an early return to the city for Moorfield, who in February sold their stake in Skypark office campus at Finnieston as part of a £1bn portfolio, following an off-market approach from US private equity firm Lone Star.
Acquiring it in 2010 in a joint venture with Glasgow-based property management partner Resonance Capital, they have been highly successful in positioning Skypark as an urban business park, with room for further growth.
Numbers 1, 2 and 3 Atlantic Quay are closer to the city centre and form a 280,000 chunk of the Clyde Waterfront.
The complex has a strong group of occupier tenants, including BAE, Lloyds, Mactaggart and Mickel, and Axa Insurance, but was built in the 1990s and will offer asset management and refurbishment opportunities to increase the property's value.
In Aberdeen, fund and asset manager Rockspring is reported to be under offer to buy oil company Enquest's new 120,000 sq ft headquarters building, developed by Drum Property Group on the site of the former Aberdeen Seafood Park.
The eight storey Annan House in Palmerston Road, close to the city centre and harbour, is part of a wider planned development called The Grande, which includes a 210 bedroom hotel.
Enquest are due to relocate into the new building over the summer, and while two floors of the space have been made available to others to sub-let - as the oil price drop slows the pace of expansion - the investor's move demonstrates continuing confidence in the fundamental strength of the north-east market.
New to market this week is 180 West George Street, Glasgow, where Cushman & Wakefield are handling the sale of the 53,000 sq ft office seven storey building.
Owners TH Real Estate is seeking more than £15m - a yield of 7.4 per cent - for the property, which produces £1.2m in rent from tenants including Standard Life, TSB and wealth management firm Bellpenny.
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