Spelthorne Council has announced the purchase of a landmark building in Hammersmith
Comprising over 170,000 sq.ft of Grade A offices arranged over 11 floors, the landmark office development '12 Hammersmith Grove' is in a prime location with outstanding transport infrastructure adjacent to Hammersmith Underground Station. This state-of-the-art building was purchased from U+I & Aberdeen Standard Investments for a sum in the region of £170m. The building is fully let on long leases, and promises a highly secure income from a first class tenant line up of multi-sector global businesses.
Ongoing reductions in Government and County Council grants and cuts means that Spelthorne is being forced to either reduce costs or find new ways to generate income. This purchase represents another significant step in Spelthorne Council's plan to protect their residents where possible from these funding cuts. Previous acquisitions by the Council include the BP International Campus, World Business Centre 4 at Heathrow, a property at Stockley Business Park near Uxbridge, as well as some important investments within the Borough.
The purchase has been funded by long-term low fixed rate loans. The Council is confident that these forward-thinking agreements, which provide the Council with a significant net income, are the best way to protect Borough services from funding cuts.
Cllr Ian Harvey, Leader of Spelthorne Borough Council, said:"I cannot stress enough that this is extremely good news for residents as it means we can continue to avoid making cuts to services that residents rely on us to provide for them. I would also like to assure residents that in pursuing this innovative strategy, we have carefully assessed the proposition to satisfy ourselves of its prudence. We are delighted with this investment and the income it will generate to protect Borough services and, in some cases, help reduce the knock-on effect of County cuts. Aberdeen Standard Investments has been a pleasure to deal with."
Elaine McCann, Associate Asset Manager (Aberdeen Standard Investments), said "We are delighted with the sale of 12 Hammersmith Grove following an intense but very successful letting programme. The scheme has attracted global tenants CAA, We Work, Perform, Medidata and Research Instruments which confirms the quality of the product the team produced. The building and leasing terms have set a new benchmark for offices in Hammersmith bringing West End quality to this market. The sale concludes a very successful partnership with our partners U+I and Transport for London and we wish the Council well with their new investment".
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