Canadian firm votes for City of London with two property mega deals in pipeline
Canadian private equity giant Brookfield is set to buy City of London property Plantation Place for a whopping £635m – the biggest office deal since Covid-19 changed working patterns and emptied offices.
The deal is expected to complete this week, the Sunday Times first reported, with Brookfield also in separate talks to buy Milton Gate, an office block on the outskirts of the City, for £215m.
The mega deals are a vote of confidence for the City of London as England edges towards so-called ‘freedom day’ on 21 June, and it is thought guidance around working from home will be lifted.
However, home working could be extended beyond June 21, according to reports, with the spread of the Indian variant posing a potential threat to the government’s roadmap.
Plantation Place – now called 30 Fenchurch Street in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests – is one of the biggest office blocks in the City, and is occupied by consultancy Accenture and Aspect Insurance.
Brookfield declined to comment.