Office block sold at 74% mark-up

Hammerson will make a 74 per cent return by selling an office block in London's Docklands for £134m in a portfolio reshuffle aimed at unlocking capital for new buys.

The property company has sold the 16-storey Exchange Tower, near Canary Wharf, to MGPA Europe Fund III for £3m more than its valuation at 31 December.

Hammerson is benefitting from a resurgence in investor interest in office space in the capital as prices and rents rally amid demand from would-be occupiers rises.

Hammerson acquired the 45,000 sq m tower in 1999 for about £77m and generated rents of £10.7m at the end of last year. Reuters