CCB buys London office for Europe HQ

China Construction Bank has become the second major Chinese financial institution to buy a London property after agreeing to pay around 110 million pounds ($187 million) for a Central London office building off-market.

CCB, one of the Big-Four state-owned commercial banks, bought 111 Old Broad Street, a recently refurbished seven-story freehold property with a total area of 11,416 square meters, from KBC Group, a Belgian bank, said international real estate services provider Knight Frank, which acted as the vendor's agent.

"It is a great success for all involved, and indeed London as a global city, that the building has been bought by CCB as their European headquarters and will become such a centerpiece to the growth of Chinese business in the UK," said Nick Braybrook, Knight Frank's head of city investment.

"In addition, the Central London office market has entered a new phase of rental growth triggered by the start of economic recovery in the UK together with a shortage of new office space. Prime rents are widely forecast to increase substantially over the next three to four years."

CCB, which was newly selected to become the first Chinese bank to provide yuan clearing services in London, received approval from Britain's Financial Services Authority in March to set up its London subsidiary — its first branch in Europe.

Chinese insurer Ping An purchased the landmark Lloyds of London building for 260 million pounds in July, the first to do so amid prediction of a wave of property deals by Chinese financial institutions.

http://www.ecns.cn/business/2014/06-27/121138.shtml