The Safra Group, Brazilian financial conglomerate, bought The Gherkin for £726 million (approx. €928 million), while the starting price was £650 million. The Safra Group is owned by billionaire Joseph Safra with fortune of $15.9 billion (second rich in Brazil, according to the Forbes ranking for 2013), ee24.com informs with reference to the Financial Times.
The building with 20 tenants and 46,900 sq.m of office space brings £28.5 annual rent income. Particular, the lower part of the building is let to insurance company Swiss Re, which was once the owner of the building, but in 2006 sold it to the German real estate group IVG Immobilien and the British investment bank Evans Randall for £630m.
41-floor skyscraper 30 St Mary Axe (180 meters high) was put up for sale in summer 2014. In recent years IVG Immobilien had large debts (about £400m), and The Gherkin was acted as a guarantor. Last year, the company recognized a bankrupt, and in April 2014 the building was handed over to the external management for sale.
Legendary skyscraper in the City of London is often called The Gherkin (because of its shape) or 30 St Mary Axe (because of its address). It was built by architect Norman Foster. The building was commissioned in 2004 and immediately became a symbol of the British capital. For example, it took part of the film Basic Instinct 2 with Sharon Stone.
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