Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square sold for £175 million

Monaco-based M1 Real Estate, an investment firm from Lebanon, has bought Victoria House in Bloomsbury Square for £175 million ($276m). The largest office deal in London's West End market since 2007. Moritz Group, of Ireland sold the building and were advised by Jones Lang LaSalle, M1 Real Estate were advised by CB Richard Ellis during the purchase. The property, a prominent island site, is the latest addition to M1 Real Estate's existing portfolio of income-generating and development-oriented assets in London. These include properties in Cadogan Square, Cadogan Gardens, Grosvenor Place, Pall Mall, and Canary Wharf. M1 Real Estate's other international assets include investments in the US, Europe, and the Middle East. Moritz Group, the seller, has been investing in the London property market over the past 8 years, and continues to hold a number of other prime investment properties in the capital city. The group is based in Ireland and also holds assets in Bucharest in Romania. 

Victoria House is an art-deco style building, which was built in 1929 and refurbished in 2003 by Garbe. It holds around 300,000 sq ft of office space and 50% of the building is let by government-backed tenants. The average lease terms at offices in the building are about 9.5 years.