London real estate investment trust Great Portland (GPOR) has sold another slug of its only City property - an unbuilt tower development at 100 Bishopsgate - to its joint venture partner, Canadian office investor Brookfield.
It formed the joint venture back in March 2010 by selling half of the project to Brookfield. The latest deal takes Brookfield's stake to 87.5 per cent, and Great Portland has given up its management role. It will have no impact on net asset value (NAV), as the transaction valued the tower at its June valuation.
The move is unsurprising. Chief executive Toby Courtauld has long made clear that his priority is the much stronger West End market, where Great Portland has three major developments - one off Piccadilly in St James's, another just north of Oxford Street and the third on Hanover Square in Mayfair. Brookfield, meanwhile, has shown an eyebrow-raising level of commitment to the City office market, most notably by buying most of Hammerson's office portfolio. This deal is modest by comparison.
