Pension Insurance Capital (PIC) acquires 2 Ruskin Square, Croydon for £267.7m

JLL acts for Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund in the sale of 2 Ruskin Square for £267.7m to Pension Insurance Corporation Plc. The site will comprise 344,940 sq ft of Grade A BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office space, located next to East Croydon Railway Station.

2 Ruskin Square will be home to Government Property Agency (GPA) whose 25-year lease will begin upon completion of the building in June. The site, part of Croydon’s £5.25bn regeneration initiative forms part of the wider nine-acre Ruskin Square scheme, which is set to act as a government campus, with 1 Ruskin Square being home to HM Revenue & Customs.

Martin LeGrice, Head of Long Income & Funding Solutions at JLL said, “Despite volatile market conditions, the streamlined disposal process attracted favourable terms due to the indexed linked Government income stream, a letting the JLL leasing team originally secured. This sale comes hot on the heels of the forward funding disposal of First Street in Manchester to PIC, also advised by the JLL Long Income and Funding Solutions team. The sale highlights the depth and strength of demand for assets which match defined benefit scheme requirements.”