A Hong Kong firm is buying up a London tower for £1.3 billion (Dh6.27bn), the highest price ever paid for a single building in Britain, the property agents said on Thursday.
The famous 34-storey building known as the "Walkie Talkie" is in the City of London's insurance district and hit the headlines when it was blamed for damaging a parked car by reflecting the sun's rays.
"Since the vote to leave the EU, capital targeting London from the Asia-Pacific region has increased to record levels," said James Beckham of the commercial property majort Cushman & Wakefield which advised on the deal.
"This is partly due to currency fluctuations but is more indicated of longer-term confidence in London and investment strategies which are not derailed by short-term political uncertainty," he said.
"This is the UK's largest ever office deal."
Lee Kum Kee, a food and health products conglomerate, is buying the two 50-per cent stakes in the building owned by Canary Wharf Group and Land Securities.
The building, which is fully let, includes a three-tiered sky garden with a restaurant.
The deal comes months after the Chinese property magnate Cheung Chung Kiu bought another London landmark - the "Cheesegrater" building - for £1.15bn.
The previous highest price for a single piece of British commercial property was the HSBC tower in Canary Wharf which was bought by the Qatar Investment Authority in December 2014 for £1.17bn.
Reuters
