M7 sells London residential development opportunity for over £13 million

M7 Real Estate (“M7”) the pan-European investor and asset manager, announces that it has completed the sale of Becketts House and Caxton Place in Ilford, London, a former office building which has been proactively repositioned for residential use, on behalf of M7 Real Estate Investment Partners V (“REIP V” or the “Fund”), for in excess of £13 million. The price reflects a capital value in excess of £250 per sq ft.

M7 acquired the former 53,000 sq ft of office building as part of a wider portfolio in 2016. Given the local need for housing, the building’s close proximity to the City of London and the planned arrival of Crossrail in 2020, M7 identified an opportunity to seek a change of use for over 100 private residential dwellings through Permitted Development.

Having achieved this in July 2019, M7 implemented a proactive asset management programme to enable vacant possession of the building. Following a marketing campaign in conjunction with Savills earlier this year, in which some 15 bids were received, a sale was agreed in the summer and successfully completed in September 2019.

John Murnaghan, Head of UK and Ireland at M7, commented: “In spite of the ongoing political uncertainty, this demonstrates that there is continued investor appetite for well-located residential opportunities close to the City of London. This sale follows the execution of our business plan for this asset which has enabled us to extract significant returns for our investors. The proceeds will be re-invested into our acquisition pipeline and asset management initiatives as we continue to drive attractive sustainable income returns.”