M&G Real Estate said it has sold an office building in Seoul for KRW204bn (鈧�139m), reflecting a 44% uplift in value after acquiring it less than four years ago.
ICON Yeoksam, in the Gangnam Business District of the South Korean capital, was bought by London-headquartered M&G in late 2020 from Singapore鈥檚 CapitaLand as part of its value-add 鈥渢argeted strategy鈥� in Asia-Pacific.
The new buyer is believed to be a Korean investment company.
Martin Seol, head of targeted strategy at M&G Real Estate Asia, said: 鈥淭he successful transaction of ICON Yeoksam exemplifies the strength of our regional value-add investment approach involving strategic capital deployment and repositioning to realise optimal value.鈥�
Seol said the firm was currently reviewing select new opportunities to continue to make new investments in residential, logistics and hospitality sectors in Asia-Pacific.
鈥淒espite the headwinds in the last few years in the global office sector, Seoul鈥檚 office market remains far more resilient than most,鈥� he said. 鈥淪eoul office net effective rents rose around 10% per annum over the last three years. It is one of the strongest markets globally.鈥�
Daniel Cho, head of Korea real estate at M&G says, 鈥淪outh Korea is a key component of our investment strategy and we are continuously seeking opportunities for substantial value growth. This transaction marks a significant achievement in our ongoing engagement with the Korean market.鈥�
The news comes a week after Blackstone sold a prime office building in Seoul for KRW792bn to Koromaco Reits Management & Trust.
