NH Investment & Securities Acquires UK Commercial Real Estate 'Marble Arch Place'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] NH Investment & Securities, together with ARA Europe & Korea, has acquired the UK commercial real estate 'Marble Arch Place.'

NH Investment & Securities announced on the 20th that it acquired Marble Arch Place, located in the core West End district of London, for ?280 million (approximately 450 billion KRW). NH Investment & Securities invested about 190 billion KRW through a fund established by ARA Korea, with the total fund size being approximately 200 billion KRW.

Marble Arch Place is situated in the West End area within London's office zone, home to high-quality tenants such as private equity (PE) firms, hedge funds, and sovereign wealth funds. It is classified as a prime location with the highest office rents, low vacancy rates, and strong tenant demand in London.

Completed in November this year, the building has a total floor area of 13,718 square meters (approximately 3,986 pyeong) and consists of 5 Marble Arch, a 7-story building with 1 basement level, and 6 Marble Arch, which has 1 above-ground floor and 1 basement level. The main tenant is Bridgepoint Adviser, a London-based financial company, which has leased most of the office space on a long-term basis for 15 years, with a contractual option to extend the lease for an additional 10 years. This is expected to provide a stable annual dividend yield in the 6% range.

NH Investment & Securities anticipated competitive pricing and future capital gains from this investment. Since the end of 2019, domestic institutional investments in the UK were temporarily halted due to COVID-19 and Brexit, but recently, interest from institutions including major pension funds has been increasing. Accordingly, NH Investment & Securities is taking a proactive approach to investing in UK real estate.

An NH Investment & Securities official stated, “Most office buildings invested in by existing domestic investors in London have been concentrated in the City area, where large banks are located, but Marble Arch Place is one of the few West End investment cases in Korea and is a highly competitive asset in terms of location.”