Standard Life Investments on behalf of a segregated client has purchased King’s Pool in York from Danish Pension Fund, PFA Pension for £43.5m, reflecting a net initial yield of 5.90%.

The King’s Pool office complex comprises of 142,221 sq ft and is let to a number of government departments on a long-term lease expiring in March 2028. It occupies a prominent position close to York Minster and the city’s retail and leisure amenities. Adjacent to the property is Hungate, a 10-acre development site which has outline planning consent for 720 residential buildings and over 200,000 sq ft of commercial accommodation.

Jason Baggaley, Fund Manager, Standard Life Investments, commented: “The acquisition of this quality office space reflects our strategy to invest in well positioned, grade A office space with the potential to deliver strong long-term returns for investors.”

Simon Bland, head of national markets at Strutt & Parker, who advised PFA Pension, said: “With the investment market so strong for long-let, well-secured assets benefitting from fixed rental increases, PFA Pension decided that the timing was now opportune to sell King’s Pool, which was their last remaining direct UK investment holding”.

Strutt & Parker advised PFA Pension throughout their ownership of King’s Pool from 1994, and Standard Life Investments was represented by CBRE.