Shanghai, 22 January
2015 – Gaw
Capital Partners, the Hong Kong-based real estate private equity firm,
announced that on behalf of Ping An Insurance. it has successfully acquired
Tower Place, located in London’s EC3 insurance district. It is another landmark
property acquired by Gaw Capital Partners for Ping An Insurance following the
acquisition of Lloyd’s Building in London’s financial district in July 2013. In
addition to leading the acquisition process (including due diligence), Gaw Capital
Partners is also providing debt financing advising with this transaction.
Tower Place is situated
in London’s internationally recognized EC3 insurance district. Designed by world
renowned architect Sir Norman Foster and built by Tishman Speyer, it is a Grade
A office complex. Completed in 2003, the property provides 35.7 thousand square
meters (or 385 thousand square feet). The property is currently 99.3% occupied,
primarily leased to Marsh & McLennan as its UK headquarters. The seller is
an open real estate fund represented by RREEF Investment GmbH.
In this deal, Gaw
Capital Partners provided investment consulting service for Ping An Insurance and
played an important role in the entire acquisition process. Since 2010, Gaw
Capital Partners has acquired 7 properties in London on behalf of its Asian
clients, and this is the 10th separate account investment globally.
The company’s other remarkable acquisitions in London include Vintners’ Place
(2012), Lloyd’s Building (2013), Waterside House (2013), headquarters of Marks
& Spencer located in the Paddington, and Exchange Tower (2014)…etc.
Goodwin Gaw, Managing
Principal and Chairman of Gaw Capital Partners, said: “We are pleased to work
for Ping An Insurance again, helping them with this significant UK investment.
This transaction demonstrates the trust and confidence of China’s institutional
investors in us. As a company active in the real estate market of Greater China
and Asia Pacific, Gaw Capital Partners is dedicated to helping China’s and
Asia’s investors look for more and more investment opportunities with higher
returns in the overseas real estate markets. We want to provide higher ROIs for
our clients by investing in quality overseas properties like Tower Place.”
The success of Gaw
Capital’s fundraising efforts is a vote of great confidence and trust in the
company’s successful track record in the US, London, Greater China and Asia
Pacific – and of the returns for its investors. “Our partners trust us due to
our extensive experience in overseas real estate management and investment.
We’ve had a long track record of successful operations in North America and
Asia, even prior to the founding of Gaw Capital Partners,” said Goodwin Gaw,
Chairman and Managing Principal of Gaw Capital Partners.