Chinese ink £1.2bn deal to buy London's Cheesegrater

A Chinese property giant has bought the Cheesegrater tower in London for £1.2bn.

British Land and Oxford Properties - which developed the 225m building, constructed by Laing O’Rourke - confirmed the sale in a statement to investors.

The buyer is CC Land, a company controlled by Chinese property magnate Cheung Chung-kiu.

The building is fully let, with occupiers including the building’s architects, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and insurers Aon and MS Amlin.

Construction of the 225m tower - officially called the Leadenhall Building - started in early 2011 and completed in summer 2014.

Contracts have been exchanged, but completional is conditional on approval by CC Land’s shareholders.

Tim Roberts, head of offices and residential at British Land, said: “British Land and Oxford Properties took a bold step at the early stages of the UK’s economic recovery to develop The Leadenhall Building to generate a high quality, long term income stream. It’s a decision which has really paid off.”

The Cheesegrater suffered two steel bolts coming lose in late 2014 and cost steelwork contractor Severfield £6m in remedial works to replace nearly 4,000 bolts on the building.

Make has just won planning approval to build a 37-storey tower with developer Brookfield where Leadenhall Court – currently occupied by Amazon – now stands. It is thought work on the tower could begin next year.