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Macfarlanes LLP has acted for Tower 42 Holdings Ltd, supported by Ki Corporation, which has exchanged agreements to buy the Tower Unit Trust, the owner of the Tower 42 Estate, for £282.5m. This reflects a net initial yield of c. 7.0 per cent once the Estate is fully let and income producing.  The sellers are BlackRock, The Royal Mail Pension Fund, Hermes and the BT Pension Fund.

Tower 42, at more than 600 ft in height, is one of the tallest buildings in the City of London. The Estate is 95 per cent let and will increase to 98 per cent once a few current lettings are finalised; it attracts tenants from a strong and varied occupier base while achieving market leading rents.

In addition to the 324,000 sq ft multi-let Tower 42, the Estate includes five other commercial buildings on a 2.2 acre freehold site. These include three modern developments on Old Broad Street comprising 20 Old Broad Street (36,000 sq ft), 30 Old Broad Street (49,000 sq ft) and the Plaza Restaurant (3,500 sq ft). There are two additional buildings on the Bishopsgate elevation including 15 Bishopsgate (46,000 sq ft) which is a potential redevelopment in 2013 and the Grade I Listed Gibson Hall (13,000 sq ft).

Ian Nisse, head of commercial real estate at Macfarlanes commented "We are delighted to have acted on this acquisition involving such an iconic building and look forward to working with KI Corporation in the future on the opportunities which will arise from the Estate."