UK's Landsec sells 21 Moorfields property to Lendlease for $917 million

(Reuters) - British landlord Land Securities Group Plc said on Wednesday it had sold 21 Moorfields, EC2 office property in London to an investment vehicle managed by Australia's Lendlease Group for 809 million pounds ($917.08 million).

A 568,500 square feet property, 21 Moorfields was fully pre-let to Deutsche Bank on a 25-year lease for housing the German firm's London headquarters.

Commercial property firms in the UK are limping back towards a recovery after the coronavirus pandemic battered the valuation of their properties and hurt rental income streams.

UK landlords, particularly those highly exposed to the office portfolio, have had to realign their strategy since the pandemic as employers opt for a hybrid work model and cut down on real estate assets.

The FTSE 100 firm said the total consideration from the sale of 21 Moorfields represents a 9% discount to the property's value in March and the net proceeds would initially be used to reduce debt. The company's net debt was 4.16 billion pounds as of 2022 fiscal year end.

Landsec has now sold 1.8 billion pounds of London offices following the strategic review in late 2020, when it undertook the decision to raise capital by selling mature office spaces.

($1 = 0.8821 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)