Gerald Eve acting jointly with Lewis & Partners, on behalf of the Harmsworth Pension Fund, has sold St Paul’s House, a newly refurbished city-centre office building in Winchester, to Aegon UK Property Fund for £15.9 million, reflecting a yield of 4.74%.
The 36,000 sq ft asset, which is fully let to actuarial firm Lane Clark & Peacock LLP on a 15-year lease, comprises four office floors along with ancillary space on the lower ground floor. A Grade A office building, it includes on-site showers, high-quality changing rooms and an extensive roof terrace on the third floor. The building has been designed to reflect modern occupiers’ priorities, with collaborative, tech-enabled spaces and strong ESG credentials including roof-mounted photovoltaics. It is targeting BREEAM Excellent.
The office is in a prime location in Winchester, an affluent city with excellent transport connections. It is approximately 300 metres from Winchester mainline station, which offers regular and direct services to London Waterloo, with three trains running every hour. The building also provides 42 car parking spaces, reflecting an excellent city-centre car parking ratio of 1:695 sq ft, plus access to a further 10 car parking spaces at Winchester station car park arranged through a separate lease.
This was a rare opportunity for a buyer to secure a long-term reliable income stream providing an attractive return profile. St Paul’s House is a post-Covid office asset in a prime location, with sustainability and collaborative working at its heart - promoting a healthy work environment as well as supporting liquidity and providing long-term returns. The sale highlights that ESG- compliant stock can now achieve a premium, with pricing having been driven by extreme competition for the asset.
Guy Freeman, Partner
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