Heron Plaza site sold to UOL Group for £97 million.
Singapore-listed developer UOL Group has bought a prime development site in London’s financial district from property investment company Heron International for £97 million.
Located in the Bishopsgate area, the Heron Plaza site will be redeveloped into a 5-star hotel and residential property.
Approval has been given for an iconic 43-storey tower with a gross floor area of 562,000 sq ft.
Designed by PLP Architecture, the new development will feature a 190-room Pan Pacific hotel, 109 residential apartments and retail shops.
Nearby transportation links include the Liverpool Street station and the future Crossrail station which is part of the East-West railway linking the whole of Greater London.
Gerald Ronson, Chief Executive of Heron International, said: “The demand for the site demonstrated that there is significant international interest in acquiring prime London assets and we are capitalizing on this opportunity.”
Heron Plaza will be UOL’s first major development in London. The company owns and manages over 30 hotels worldwide with close to 9,600 hotel rooms under its Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL brands.
“We look forward to establishing good rapport with the local community as we embark on the development of this project,” noted UOL Group Chief Executive Gwee Lian Kheng.
The acquisition was financed by internal resources and external borrowings and is not expected to have any material impact on the group’s net tangible assets or earnings per share for this financial year.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor of PropertyGuru Group, wrote this story. To contact him about this or other stories email: romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
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