News

Oxfam’s headquarters sold for £29.9m

Q4 2016

Aviva Investors, on behalf of the AIPL retail fund, has completed the sale of the Oxfam Headquarters at Oxford Business Park, to the London Borough of Sutton, for a figure of £29.9m, reflecting 5.28% NIY.

The Grade A office building comprises 87,341 sq ft and is let to Oxfam for a further 8.5 years at a passing rent of £1,685,446 per annum, equating to £19.75 per sq ft.

The building was constructed for Oxfam in 2005 and operates as the UK headquarters for one of the most recognised charities worldwide. The charity has a special and permanent relationship with Oxford, having originally been formed at the University nearly 75 years ago, as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief. It now reaches over 11 million people a year across more than 50 countries around the world.

Christian Anderton, Aviva Investors Real Estate: "We are very pleased with a successful execution, ahead of business plan and reflecting our reaction to what we perceived to be a short term hardening in the appetite for well secured, medium term income."

Guy Spencer, head of national markets office investment at Strutt & Parker, who acted for Aviva said: “We are delighted to have been able to advise Aviva on the disposal of such a high profile HQ office investment. The price achieved demonstrates the strong investor demand for well secured income offering future rental growth prospects.”

Luke Baker, fund manager AIPL, Aviva Investors Real Estate commented: "The disposal delivers investors an outcome ahead of expectations and realises part of the Fund’s strategy to generate sustainable out-performance from a diversified portfolio of high quality UK real estate managed intensively by the Aviva Investors Real Estate Team. We are excited to have achieved such a fantastic result for AIPL."

Cushman & Wakefield advised the London Borough of Sutton; Aviva was represented by Strutt & Parker