The London headquarters of UBS has been acquired by a Hong Kong property tycoon.
CK Asset Holdings, a real estate firm founded by Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's richest man, snapped up the U.K. offices housing Swiss bank UBS. The vendors British Land and Singaporean wealth fund GIC, announced the 1 billion pounds sterling deal in a media statement.
The building at 5 Broadgate accommodates staff from all UBS arms, private banking, investment banking, asset management, and the corporate center, under one roof.
UBS opened the 12-story «groundscraper» in the heart of the U.K.'s financial capital to house its 5,300 London personnel in October 2016.
Asian Buyers Love London
«5 Broadgate is a great quality asset with a high quality tenant, and we are delighted with this investment,» said Gerald Ma, of CK Asset Holdings.
The latest transaction is the most recent by Asian investors in London's commercial property market. Hong Kong-based investor CC Land, bought the City of London’s tallest office tower, the «Cheesegrater» for more than a billion pounds.
Another Hong Kong buyer, LKK Health Products Group, purchased the commercial building at 20 Fenchurch Street, London, known as the Walkie Talkie. The total consideration of 1.28 billion pounds sterling is the largest-ever transaction in the U.K. for a stand-alone office building.
