The £575 million sale of a London office building is now regarded as the biggest solo-property transaction in the city so far this year, Bloomberg News reported May 12. 

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The Walbrook Building in the City of London was sold by Minerva Ltd. to Taiwanese insurance company Cathay Life Insurance Co., citing a statement from Minerva. Research firm Real Capital Analytics Inc. said the sale is London's largest year to date. 

Cathay Life Executive Vice President Abel Lin told Bloomberg in a phone interview that some of the factors that led to the sale include a potential 4.8 percent investment return from the sale and London's "transparent trading system." 

Looking ahead, Lin said his firm will continuously look at big-city property targets in London - Frankfurt, Munich and Tokyo. 

U.K.'s Property Week reported Feb. 2 that Knight Frank and CBRE were chosen to market the iconic building for a deal that was pegged to be worth around £500 million. 

According to its website, the Walbrook is "in the heart of the City of London" and has a prime landmark status. The 1.6-acre freehold property also features 410,000 square feet of office space and 35,000 square feet or retail and restaurant. 

The building's tenants include AJ Gallagher, DNB Bank, GSMA, Jones Lang LaSalle, Vanguard, Virgin Active, Worldpay and Xchanging. Walbrook is surrounded by Cannon Street Station, Monument Underground Station, Mansion House, Bank of England and the London Stock Exchange. It is also in proximity to the London Bridge and the Southwark Bridge. 

Bloomberg noted that Minerva is owned by Ares Management LP and Delancey Real Estate Asset Management Ltd.'s clients. The company was acquired in 2011 for approximately £203 million, following the fallout of billionaire Nathan Kirsh's bid to save Minerva.  

TagsLondon, the walbrook building, property, real estate