British Land has announced that it has agreed to purchase Wardrobe Court, EC4, a 71,000 sq ft residential investment property in the heart of the City of London for £57 million.

Situated a few minutes walk from St Paul's Cathedral, Wardrobe Court is one of the few surviving early 18th century squares in the City of London. Sympathetically re-stored, Wardrobe Court is a Grade II listed cluster of buildings set around a cobbled courtyard, comprising 92 studio, one, two and three-bedroom serviced apartments along with a retail and office unit.

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The majority of the property is let to Bridge Street, a leading serviced apartment operator, until December 2014 with rent subject to annual uplifts in line with RPI, representing at purchase, a net initial yield to British Land of 4.7%. At the end of the lease, we have an opportunity to renew or re-let as serviced apartments at a significantly higher rent, or to upgrade and sell-off profitably as private residential properties.

Tim Roberts, Head of Offices at British Land, said: "With this acquisition, we have acquired a collection of unique and well located residential properties, leveraging our experience in the London residential market. We are confident we can either attract a higher rent from a serviced apartment operator or upgrade and sell as private residential at a significant premium to our entry price."

(CD/KMcA)