The Gherkin, the 'cucumber' building, one of the most unique buildings on the skyline of London, was sold for more than £700 million to the Safra Group, controlled by Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra.
The Norman Foster-designed building was sold for £726 million, with a yield of £3.81 trillion, according to sources familiar with the sale. The price is £211 trillion higher than the £600 million for which the iconic Gherkin was purchased by a fund managed by German company IVG Immobilien and British real estate company Evans Randall at the height of the recent real estate boom.
Safra Group said: "The acquisition of the building is in line with our real estate strategy to invest in truly special properties in the best locations in the largest cities. The building is only ten years old, but has already become a London icon, differentiated from other buildings on the market, and its value has excellent growth potential. We intend to make the building better and more desirable through active ownership that will lead to a series of improvements that will benefit the tenants.".
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The Gherkin acquisition reflects Yosef Safra's diverse investment appetite. Last month, the Safra Group closed the $1.3 billion acquisition of banana company Chiquita, along with its Brazilian partner, orange juice company Cotral. It is the largest acquisition by a Latin American country in the United States in the past four years.
Although the Gherkin deal is the Safra Group's first foray into the British commercial real estate market, Safra already has some familiarity with the international real estate market. Last year, his family asset management company, M. Safra & Co. - together with Chinese real estate company Zheng Xin - acquired a 40% holding in the General Motors Building in New York for $1.4 billion. The deal reflected a $3.4 billion value for the 50-story office tower.
