City of London Landmark The Gherkin Sold for £726m

Baku. 10 November. REPORT.AZ/ The Gherkin, one of the most distinctive buildings on the London skyline, has been sold for more than £700m to the Safra Group, the company controlled by Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra.

Safra, which last month jointly acquired Chiquita, the US banana company, said on Monday that it had acquired the Norman Foster-designed skyscraper from its receivers, though it did not disclose the amount it paid.

The building, which is officially called 30 St Mary Axe was sold for £726m with a yield of 3.8 per cent, people close to the sale said. That is 21 per cent higher than the £600m that a fund managed by Germany’s IVG Immobilien and UK property company Evans Randall purchased the landmark for at the height of the last property boom.

Safra Group said in a statement: “The acquisition of 30 St Mary Axe is consistent with our real estate strategy of investing in properties that are truly special – at the best locations within great cities, reports Report citing Financial Times.The Gherkin deal is the group’s latest foray into the UK property market. It already owns buildings in upmarket locations such as New Bond Street.