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British Land looking to sell off stake in fully let Cheesegrater building

Property developers British Land are looking to sell their 50% stake in the Leadenhall Building, according to reports.

The property, nicknamed the Cheesegrater, reached full capacity in July this year after current tenants Kames Capital, MS Amlin and Rothesay Life all agreed to take the final three floors at the building.

According to Reuters, the property firm is now looking to sell its share in the building, which it opened in July 2014, with its stake valued in the region of £500m.

With the building now fully let, the developer will be able to command an even greater price from interested buyers, while the dip in Sterling is predicted to drive interested from overseas buyers.

The building, which British Land co-owns with Oxford Properties, was built without any significant pre-lets in what was considered a major bet by the developers at the time in the wake of the financial crash.

However the long-term leases now housed within the building will go some way to ensure that the firm can command a pre-Brexit price, despite worries about commercial office take-up following the EU referendum.

The news agency goes on to speculate that British Land hopes to use the cash from the sale to fund its Broadgate development without having to take on further debt, while co-owners Oxford Properties are touted as a potential buyer.

Quoting a source, it said that no buyer had yet come forward and that proceedings were still at an early stage.

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