HB Reavis has paid £62.5m for the property at 33 King William Street, EC4, between Bank and London Bridge. The existing building is fully rented until June 2014 to asset management company BlackRock. But when the lease expires, the developer intends to begin demolition and construct a new office block on a speculative basis.
The site has planning consent for a new 229,755 sqft Grade A office building, which will be completed in the second half of 2016. The new nine-storey building has been designed by John Robertson Architects. HB Reavis was advised by Knight Frank and Norton Rose Fulbright.
“We see this project as a unique opportunity, with an exceptional office building in an excellent location,” said HB Reavis director Tomaš Jurdák. “Our intention is to continue investment in additional high-quality development opportunities in London into 2014. We look forward to establishing our company as an active contributor to London’s world class real estate community.”
Radim Římánek, board director of HB Reavis Group with responsibility for its UK business, added: “We have recently made a strategic decision to enter the commercial development market in London, as we strongly believe in the market’s fundamentals. Our plan here is to apply key elements of our successful integrated business model, building up a robust development portfolio and a strong local professional team.”
HB Reavis has become a leading commercial real estate developer in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary over the past 20 years. Since 1993, it has delivered more than 7 million sq ft of leasable area, including nine office projects, four shopping centres and five logistics centres. Tenants include Proctor & Gamble, T-mobile, AT&T, SwissRe, Unilever and KPMG.
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