Investment adviser Seaton Place has purchased Gaspé House, in what is said to be the largest single commercial office acquisition in the Channel Islands.
The Grade A building stands in a prime waterfront location in St Helier's new business district, the Esplanade Quarter. It was completed in 2016 and consists of more than 164,000 square feet of open-plan office space spread over six floors.
The building is fully let on long leases to Royal Bank of Canada, First Names Group, Collas Crill and Deloitte.
Purchaser Seaton Place sources, structures and purchases commercial real estate assets to provide investment solutions for international ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and wealth managers.
Andy Seaman, Director of Seaton Place, commented: “We are pleased to be able to secure Gaspé House in spite of tremendous competition from large global institutional investors. We intend to roll out our strategy of utilising high-quality income from commercial real estate and bonds to provide bespoke targeted portfolio solutions for investors across fixed income and property asset classes.”
Seaton Place was advised by Carey Olsen on the transaction. The Carey Olsen team was led by Partners Chris Philpott and Rob Milner, with support from Property Senior Associate Will Whitehead and Corporate and Finance Senior Associate Colin Masterton.
CBRE Jersey was the property adviser on behalf of the purchaser. Tax advice and financial due diligence were provided by Smith & Williamson, and corporate services by Praxis Fund Services (Jersey).
Lloyds Bank International provided senior debt to help fund the acquisition. Ogier's finance and property teams acted for Lloyds Bank International.