£1 billion of prime London property put up for sale

Three prime London properties have been put up for sale by German bank HSH Nordbank.

The properties are part of a loan portfolio that the bank is anxious to divest before its planned privatisation next year. The London properties include the Cannon Place base of law firm CMS, Cisco System’s HQ at Bedfast Lakes not far from Heathrow and Man Group’s offices at Swnn Lane, London EC4.

It is thought the bank will consider separate bids for the properties, however the buyers will have to take on the accompanying debt. Trophy commercial properties in London have been lean on the ground since the Brexit vote, and the HSH sites will undoubtedly attract much interest, including from private equity groups.

Although HSH reported pre-tax profits of 450 million euros in 2015 it has revealed a substantial rise in shipping loan provisions. CEO Stefan Ermisch still expects the business to remain in profit this year.

The shipping sector has been hit by tough competition amidst slowing global trade and a glut of container ships.

HSH plans to transfer €5bn of bad loans to Hamburg and Schleswig Holstein, the two states that together own around 80 per cent of the company. It is now trying to sell the €3.2bn balance of debt on the market and is reporting ‘significant investor interest’.

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