Hong Kong’s Gaw Capital Partners led a consortium that acquired an office tower in the city from Swire Group for HK$9.85 billion (US$1.26 billion), with Canadian insurer Manulife Financial Corporation expected to join in as the single largest investor.
The property, Cityplaza One, is a 21-storey office building in Hong Kong’s Eastern district.
Other members of the consortium include Schroder Pamfleet, the real estate investment arm of Schroders, and Hong Kong’s BOC Life, Gaw Capital says in a statement on December 30.
The company adds that it recently reached an agreement with Manulife Financial for the insurer to join the group as the single largest investor.
It did not provide details of the consortium’s ownership structure.
The deal comes two years after Gaw Capital acquired two commercial towers in the same district from Swire Group, a conglomerate with headquarters in Hong Kong and London, for HK$15 billion.
“We are delighted to have completed the closing of Cityplaza One today, which is a strong addition to our commercial portfolio in Hong Kong, and further showing our confidence in the ongoing successful re-gentrification of Hong Kong Island East,” Christina Gaw, the company’s managing principal and head of capital markets, says in the statement.
Swire Group, which owns around 13.2 million square feet of commercial, residential and retail properties in Hong Kong, has been selling older and non-core real estate in recent years to raise funds for new projects.
Gaw Capital, a private equity manager that focuses on property investment, had $27 billion of assets under management as of September 2020.
