Capital & Counties acquires full stake of Empress State Building

Capital & Counties Properties (Capco) is the sole owner of the Empress State Building after acquiring the remaining 50 per cent stake from Land Securities Group for 117m pounds.

The Empress State Building is a 31-storey office building located adjacent to the Earls Court and West Kensington Opportunity Area in London.

It is fully let to the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime until June 2019. The current rent passing is £14.9 million. The purchase price represents an initial yield of 6.2% and an equivalent yield of 6.0%.

Opportunities to extend or review the existing lease will be considered. Alternatively, the company said the property may be suitable for a residential conversion in line with the Earls Court Masterplan.

"The Empress State Building provides an attractive income stream until 2019 whilst offering a number of options to create further value over the medium-term as the area benefits from the implementation of the Earls Court Masterplan," said Investment Director of Capco, Gary Yardley.

Shares rose 0.63% to 333.10p at 09:03 Thursday.

RD