London office space leased by Hammerson

Hammerson lease London office space for 999 years.

The property company plan to refurbish the most expensive office suites.

Property investment company Hammerson has purchased a 999 year leasehold on 99 Bishopsgate in London. The company has paid £100 million for the high quality office space and will spend additional money revamping the commercial property.

Hammerson will focus mostly on the refurbishment work that will be carried out on the highest quality office space. This is because it will allow the company to capitalise on the more expensive space in a shorter time-frame. The lease ends in 2100 and covers the entire 31,500 metre square office space within the building. The property company purchased the leasehold from PRUPIM which had the property on a “virtual freehold” and was acting on behalf on the Prudential Assurance Company.

Current tenants of the building include Latham & Watkins, Korea Development Bank, Charles River Associates International and Deutsche Bank. However, Hammerson commented in a statement that: “Deutsche Bank is expected to vacate the majority of its space later this year.”

The company says it plans to refurbish the office space in what it calls ‘a period of expected undersupply’. This is because there is currently a lack of potential office space developments that will be open to new businesses during 2012. Due to the Deutsche Bank move and the imminent refurbishment Hammerson can expect to make a decent return on the property almost instantly.