Iconic 100 Hatton Garden building to be sold by the end of the year

A Singaporean investment company, UOL Group, will acquire the 120 Holborn site in Hatton Garden by the end of the year. The site incorporates the iconic 100 Hatton Garden building, which houses many jewellery businesses including the London Diamond Bourse (LDB), along with retail units along Hatton Garden. UOL announced that a newly incorporated joint venture, United Venture Investments, has entered into a sales and purchase agreement to acquire the freehold of the nine-storey mixed-used building for £229.6m. There is no immediate suggestion about the future of the jewellery businesses housed in the building, but concerns have been raised about the future of London’s famous jewellery quarter with a new Crossrail station at nearby Farringdon station likely to drive up rents and attract commercial property developers to the area. Last month the LDB announced it would hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to consult its members on the options available to the bourse when its current lease at 100 Hatton Garden ends in July 2019. Commenting on the recent acquisition, Victoria McKay, chief operating officer at the LDB, said the bourse, along with other tenants within the building, have been aware for some time that the building was on the market. “Many tenants are on short leases and the circumstances have made it difficult to discuss the future of the building with the landlords. We recently held a meeting for office tenants in 100 Hatton Garden and LDB’s lease is the longest we have found - ending July 2019,” she said. “Overall, LDB views the news as positive - it may bring an end to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the building. “It is of concern that the new landlords have acquired the island site at 5.75% net yield and one would expect the new landlords will want to maximise this return. We are hopeful that the new landlords will enter into early and transparent conversation regarding the future of the building.”