GIC JV With British Land Selling Half-Stake in London Office Project to Abu Dhabi’s Modon

Singapore’s GIC and joint venture partner British Land are selling a 50 percent stake in an office project at their Broadgate campus in London’s central business district to Abu Dhabi developer Modon Holding for an undisclosed price.

The $801 billion sovereign fund and British Land will each retain 25 percent ownership in 2 Finsbury Avenue, a 750,000 square foot (69,677 square metre) twin-tower complex under construction on the City of London’s northern fringe. Ken Griffin’s Citadel hedge fund and Citadel Securities have committed to leasing 261,000 square feet of workspace at the development, with options to lease a further 121,000 square feet.

The half-stake in 2 Finsbury Avenue marks the entry into Britain’s prime property market of Modon, a real estate group majority-owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign investor ADQ and UAE-controlled holding firm IHC. LSE-listed British Land will remain the development and asset manager for the project, the partners said in a release.

“The establishment of this new joint venture is a vote of confidence for both Broadgate and the City,” British Land CEO Simon Carter said without divulging the stake’s value.

Cashing In on Imbalance

Upon completion in 2027, 2 Finsbury Avenue will feature a 36-storey East Tower, a 21-storey West Tower and a 12-storey podium linking the two towers via a 7,000 square foot “winter garden”.

GIC purchased its half-stake in British Land’s Broadgate office and retail campus from private equity giant Blackstone in 2013 in a £1.7 billion (now $2.1 billion) deal. The transaction included Blackstone’s 50 percent interest in the 5 Broadgate office building then under construction.

The office asset remained under 50:50 ownership by GIC and British Land until they sold 5 Broadgate to Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset for £1 billion in mid-2018. The Hong Kong firm sold the property to South Korea’s NPS in 2022 for £1.21 billion. The same year, GIC and British Land formed a 75:25 JV to acquire a set of commercial projects in London’s Paddington area for £694 million.

The JV partners for 2 Finsbury Avenue expect the project’s opening to coincide with a demand-supply imbalance for new and refurbished space, particularly in the City, leading to strong rental growth at the top end of the market.

“The quality and leasing potential of 2 Finsbury Avenue together with the experience and reputation of our partners, made this a compelling entry for Modon into the London real estate market,” said Modon CEO Bill O’Regan. “We are delighted to add this asset to our portfolio and look forward to working with them to deliver the asset in 2027.”

Vacancy Eases

Central London’s office vacancy rate in November fell 20 basis points to 7.8 percent, the lowest level in 28 months, according to the latest Market Watch report from Savills.

A further 830,000 square feet of leasing activity during the month boosted year-to-date take-up to 8.6 million square feet, up 14 percent on the same period of 2023, with overall volume edging closer to the long-term average, the consultancy said.

“Since the start of the final quarter, we have seen the equivalent of an additional 2.2 million square feet of insurance and financial sector occupier demand, taking the overall quantum of demand we are seeing from this sector close to the record levels we witnessed during 2022,” said Victoria Bajela, Savills’ commercial research director for central London.

The fourth quarter’s major transactions included A&O Shearman exercising an option for a further 100,000 square feet of leased office space at GIC and British Land’s 1 Broadgate, a mixed-use project set to open in the third quarter of this year. The law firm will occupy 354,000 square feet in total after first pre-letting its workspace in the fourth quarter of 2021.