Land Securities sells its Portman House office to Libyan investor

PROPERTY giant Land Securities said yesterday it has sold its Portman House retail and office building on Oxford Street to a Libyan state-backed investor for £155m.

The multi-let building in the heart of the West End shopping district has been bought by Kinloss Property, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Libyan Foreign Investment Company.

The asset generates a total rent of £11.5m a year and is held on a long lease from The Portman Estate on a term expiring in 2152. The purchase price reflects an annual income yield of just over seven per cent.

The acquisition of Portman House comes about six months after the Libyan Investment Authority agreed to buy a 172,000 square foot office building in the City for £120m.

Property prices in London have fallen almost 45 per cent since June 2007.