The construction and property group and its partner, via Venta Belgarum II Ltd Pt (VB II), have signed a sale and purchase agreement with Wessex Winchester Ltd Pt to acquire 100% equity interest in Wessex Winchester Propco Ltd, the owner of the 317,000 sq ft Winchester House.
Gamuda’s wholly owned Gamuda Land (Labuan) Ltd holds a 75% stake in VB II, while Castleforge’s wholly-owned partnership entity Athelstan Ltd owns the remaining 25%.
Post acquisition, Gamuda said it plans to refurbish and upgrade the property into a best-in-class, top-rated environmentally sustainable ESG office space that caters to global or multinational financial institutions, legal firms, and mega-tech corporations.
“Gamuda intends to dispose of this investment by the fifth year or prior, after locking in strong pre-lease arrangements by quality tenants,” it added, noting that the Winchester House is Deutsche Bank AG’s current London headquarters, with its lease due to expire in April 2024.
The acquisition is part of its property development arm Gamuda Land’s quick-turnaround-project (QTP) strategy, which aims to build a regional portfolio of real estate projects with high internal rates of return with investment time frames of five years or less, Gamuda’s filing showed. “The QTP strategy is intended to diversify the portfolio, maximise returns on capital, and grow Gamuda Land’s geographical presence beyond Malaysia,” the group said.
