Hines Global REIT to Sell London Office Building to Hong Kong-Listed REIT for $482.6 Million
HGR Liquidating Trust, the liquidating trust of non-traded real estate investment trust Hines Global REIT Inc., has agreed to sell 25 Cabot Square, a 17-story Class A office building located in Canary Wharf in London.
HGR Liquidating Trust, the liquidating trust of non-traded real estate investment trust Hines Global REIT Inc., has agreed to sell 25 Cabot Square, a 17-story Class A office building located in Canary Wharf in London, for approximately $482.6 million (approximately £380 million), excluding transaction and closing costs. HGR Liquidating Trust expects the transaction to close next month.
25 Cabot Square was purchased by Hines Global REIT in March 2014 for $371.7 million. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Class A property was completed in 1991 as part of the first phase of the Canary Wharf development. The building is leased to Morgan Stanley UK Group.
According to Mingtiandi, a news publication focused on Asia’s real estate markets, Hong Kong-listed real estate investment trust, Link REIT, is the buyer. Earlier reports from the publication claim that “private equity fund Blackstone pulled out of the acquisition in March…after having already agreed to terms.”
According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the purchaser funded an earnest money deposit of approximately $48.4 million (HK $375 million Hong Kong Dollars).
Hines Global REIT recently formed HGR Liquidating Trust to complete its plan of liquidation approved by stockholders on July 17, 2018. The trust’s primary purpose is to liquidate assets transferred to it and distribute the sales proceeds to equity holders after paying any of the remaining liabilities.
HGR Liquidating Trust recently declared a special distribution of $1.00 per unit which will be paid in cash on July 31, 2020 to unitholders of record at the close of business on July 15, 2020.
Hines Global REIT launched in December 2008 and closed its offering in April 2014 after raising $2.7 billion in investor equity. The value of the seven remaining real estate property investments as of June 30, 2020 was $1.2 billion.
