Land Securities has agreed to sell a landmark London office used by the Ministry of Justice for £245 million to the company owned by billionaire hotel tycoon Surinder Arora.
Arora Group will buy Queen Anne’s Mansions at 102 Petty France, Westminster, amid the “recovery” of central London’s property market.
Land Securities (Landsec) said the sale forms part of its plans to raise £2 billion from its portfolio of offices by 2030 to focus on the more profitable areas of its business.
Chief executive Mark Allan said the sale “provides strong evidence of the continuing recovery in the central London investment market”.
The brutalist building was constructed in the 1970s on the site of the original Queen Anne’s Mansions which were Victorian-era luxury apartments.
The current lease to the Ministry of Justice will expire in December 2028, at which point the building will be in need of significant refurbishment, Landsec said.
The sale comes after Mr Arora recently submitted plans for a third runway at Heathrow, rivalling that of the airport’s owners.
The proposals involve a shorter runway which would mean the M25 motorway does not need to be diverted.
Arora Group’s plan has a cost estimate of under £25 billion, not including the redevelopment of the airport’s existing central area.
Arora Group specialises in property, construction and hotel management, and is one of the largest landowners at Heathrow.
The sale of Queen Anne’s Mansions is expected to complete in December this year.
