Google poised for £550m Kings Cross office purchase
Google is about to do one of the largest occupational deals ever seen in London by buying a £550m new office property in London, according to reports today. The Telegraph says the internet giant is to acquire a 999-year lease on Block A at the Kings Cross Central development. Property Week reports that the company wants to do a deal on the 734,000 sq ft property before Thanksgiving on November 22.
While Google owns most of its headquarters buildings worldwide, Property Week points out that it has not been able to acquire the freehold outright on Block A because of the complicated ownership structure of the Kings Cross scheme. The Kings Cross Central Limited Partnership involves Hermes Real Estate, London & Continental Railways and DHL. The developer is Argent, which is partly owned by Hermes.
Google is expected to appoint Argent to develop the offices once the building is purchased, and would move in during 2015, the Telegraph says. The company currently has office space in Victoria and offices in Soho but wants to expand.
London’s increasing attractiveness to the TMT sector has been the subject of much comment in recent months and this deal is bound to raise the capital’s profile even further among companies in the technology, telecoms and media industries. It will also highlight the establishment of Kings Cross as a London office district.
Property Week notes that the sale represents a price of around £750 per sq ft, which is on a par with the amount paid by BNP Paribas for its 398,000 sq ft property at the Kings Cross scheme in 2011.
