The Neptune Energy building in Aberdeen has been sold in the city’s biggest office deal since the pandemic began.
Glade Capital has acquired the five-storey complex on North Esplanade West, No. 16, from a limited partnership managed by fellow London-based property investor Tritax.
The value of the deal was undisclosed but Glade, which was founded in 2019 to target central London commercial property investment opportunities and is now targeting investments throughout the UK, swooped to buy after it was marketed at £15.25 million.
It means Aberdeen’s property investment market has already outperformed last year’s deal activity total, in terms of the amount of money changing hands.
Around £5.5m was transacted during 2020 as the economic impact of Covid-19 and a severe downturn in the North Sea oil and gas industry subdued volumes.
Consisting of 40,764sq. ft. of Grade A office space spread over its five floors, the building was completed in 2014. It has a highly-prized “excellent” rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (Breeam) scheme, awarded to only the most environment-friendly properties.
Property giant Knight Frank and legal firm DWF advised the seller, while lawyers at Dentons acted for the purchaser.
Chris Ion, capital markets partner at Knight Frank’s office in Aberdeen, said the deal underlined “the value on offer” in the Granite City and its attractiveness as a place to invest.
Mr Ion added: “It is a high quality, prominent building that remains one of the highest rated buildings for its sustainability credentials in the city – a key driver in the energy-led occupational market.
“With both Covid-19 restrictions easing and the oil price sustaining at pre-Covid levels, it could serve as a catalyst for further investment in 2021 and beyond.”
Glade Capital founding partner Lior Eisenberg said: “Aberdeen’s 16 North Esplanade West represents our commitment to quality assets well-located across UK city centres.
“We’re excited to grow our footprint in the UK market. This acquisition, like other recently completed transactions in our portfolio, embraces an investment philosophy of acquiring Grade A office properties that are leased on a long-term basis to a strong, investment grade tenant.”
Neptune – backed by private-equity firms Carlyle Group and CVC Capital Partners, as well as a Chinese sovereign investor – has been in the building since a £3.9 billion deal, completed in 2018, to acquire the oil and gas exploration and production interests of French energy giant Engie.
La Defense-based Engie, then called GDF Suez, had invested in award-winning North Sea operational headquarters in Aberdeen just a few years earlier.
GDF Suez House, or 16 North Esplanade West, was officially opened in October 2014.
News of the building changing hands comes hot-on-the-heels of Knight Frank’s latest Aberdeen Report into the city’s beleaguered commercial property markets.
Industry expert Eric Shearer said the report made for “grim” reading generally, although there was a more upbeat tone regarding the industrial market in the city.
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