Heron International Sells Heron Plaza Development Site to UOL Group as Buyer Plans European Hospitality Brand Debut
A major land transaction was recently completed as hotel operator UOL Group Ltd. acquired a plot of land in London.
By Alex Girda, Associate Editor
London–A major land transaction was recently completed as hotel operator UOL Group Ltd. acquired a plot of land in London. Seller Heron International, a property investment company received a fee of approximately 97 million GBP, or around $160 million for its prime development site located in the Bishopsgate area of the City of London.
Singapore-based hospitality company UOL Group has selected Heron Plaza as its inaugural project in the city, and it is set to debut the Pan Pacific brand on the European market to be part of the brand. The property will join an existing portfolio of more than 30 hotels and 9,600 rooms located in Asia, Oceania and North America that UOL owns, manages and/or markets. The hotels included in the portfolio are all operated under the Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL brands.
Gerald Ronson, the chief executive of Heron International, the seller, notes, “Heron Plaza is a landmark site in the heart of the City of London, which we have owned for almost 15 years.” The executive also remarked that the high demand for the property and has decided to capitalize on the asset due to increased interest in prime London properties. Meanwhile, the Chief executive of UOL Group, Gwee Lian Kheng expressed the company’s excitement at acquiring the site “as part of our overseas strategic expansion.” CBRE, Savills and Taylor Wessing advised seller Heron International, while UOL Group worked with Berwin Leighton Paisner in the deal.
Plans for Heron Plaza designed by PLP Architects call for the new owner to build a luxury new-build hotel with a residential component in a prime area of the City of London. The 43-story tower would offer around 562,000 square feet of gross floor area, including a five-star rated hotel, residential apartments and a retail component, to be developed at the Bishopsgate site.