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Investment

Bahrain's Blacksand Buys WeWork-Let City Office 51 Eastcheap for c.£70m

CRE Desk

CRE Desk

— 1 min read
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  • Blacksand, the Bahrain-based investment firm, has acquired the freehold of 51 Eastcheap, EC3, a 89,459 sq ft City of London office building let entirely to WeWork, for approximately £70m
  • Seller was a joint venture between Polus Capital Management and Greycoat, which had themselves acquired the asset out of receivership after Deutsche Bank enforced against WeWork Capital Advisors, the building's previous owner, following a loan default
  • The building is single-let to WeWork on a lease running to 2039, with a passing rent that had reached around £6.4m per annum as of the most recent published terms, backed by a parent company guarantee

Bahraini investment firm Blacksand has purchased 51 Eastcheap in the City of London for a reported price of approximately £70m, according to trade press reporting. The freehold, an 89,459 sq ft office building arranged over basement, ground and eight upper floors, was acquired from a joint venture between Polus Capital Management and Greycoat. That partnership had itself taken ownership of the building following a distressed process: 51 Eastcheap was previously held by WeWork Capital Advisors (also known as Ark or WeWork Property Investors), the coworking group's real estate investment arm, which had bought the site in 2017 for £47m and subsequently carried out a comprehensive back-to-frame refurbishment completed in 2019. Deutsche Bank had provided secured lending against the asset — placed 51 Eastcheap into receivership in March 2024 after WeWork Capital Advisors breached its loan covenants and a prior attempt to sell the building collapsed. Interpath Advisory's were appointed joint fixed charge receivers in March 2024, instructing Eastdil Secured to run a fresh sale process. The building was subsequently acquired out of receivership by Polus Capital and Greycoat, ahead of this latest sale to Blacksand. Throughout the chain of ownership, WeWork has remained the sole occupier under a long-term lease that runs to 2039.

Bahrain-based private equity firm Blacksand has been steadily building a diversified UK real estate portfolio, targeting long-income offices, hospitality, logistics, and student housing. In addition to the purchase of 51 Eastcheap, the firm’s UK holdings include Signature London (The J Marylebone Hotel), a Morrisons-leased logistics facility in Bellshill, Glasgow, and a £41 million purpose-built student accommodation asset, following the previous profitable sale of its Leazes Terrace student residence to Newcastle United FC.  

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