Hong Kong’s Gaw buys M&S London offices
HONG KONG-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and three South Korean investors have teamed up to buy the London headquarters of retailer Marks & Spencer for around $321m (£198m), adding to a string of property deals by Asian investors this year.
Asian investors, including insurers and banks, are buying into European properties as a way to diversify their portfolios as they seek a steady yield of between five to six per cent. The purchase of Waterside House in Paddington, which has 237,800 square feet office space, would make it Gaw Capital’s fourth property deal in London this year. The building was designed by architect Richard Rogers, who also designed the Lloyd’s of London building and the Pompidou Centre.