THE investment arm of Sir David Murray’s family has sold the Exchange Plaza in the heart of Edinburgh’s financial district for a reported £54 million.
The former Rangers owner’s Murray Capital group sold the complex to M&G Real Estate which has several investments in Edinburgh, most notably part of the four-acre mixed-use Haymarket development and 40 Torphichen Street, a 57,000-sq-ft office development.
The move is being seen in Edinburgh’s commercial property sector as good news, justifying the initial Murray investment back in 2006 and confirming the capital’s offices and other city centre developments are much sought after.
Exchange Plaza hosts the offices of Cairn Energy and Artemis as well as Brewdog and All Bar One.
The development became fully occupied when top legal firm Burness Paull almost doubled the size of its office space in the Plaza late last year.
Commercial property firm JLL marketed the 100,000-sq-ft site which extends to six storeys off Lothian Road. Savills are understood to have advised the buyers.
Insider.co.uk reported that it is understood that M&G, which has around £33 billion of funds under management, bought the building on behalf of an overseas fund rather than one of its retail ones.
Exchange Plaza is the latest transaction by M&G Real Estate’s Capital Solutions group, providing separate accounts and joint venture strategies to domestic and international investors.
Martin Towns, head of UK commercial and global capital partnerships at M&G Real Estate, said: “Our deep knowledge and understanding of Edinburgh placed us in a strong position to access this deal and proved decisive in its eventual completion.
“The fundamentals of the Edinburgh occupier market are highly attractive, and we identified a significant opportunity to deploy capital today to generate future value for our investors.
“We are actively seeking opportunities throughout the UK to harness our leading investment expertise on behalf of international investors.”
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