Saltire Court ‘taken off market as offers fall short’

Saltire Court

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has withdrawn the prestigious Edinburgh office block Saltire Court from the market after offers fell short of the £69 million asking price, according to a report in Property Week.

The report said the sovereign wealth fund put the 180,000 sq ft property — located in the shadows of Edinburgh Castle — up for sale in September through Cushman & Wakefield (C&W) at a 6.54% yield.

But despite interest from investors including Columbia Threadneedle Investments and AEW Europe, the highest bids came in at about £65 million, the report said.

The strong prospect of re-letting the building’s vacant space influenced the decision not to go ahead with a sale, the report said.

Interest has emerged in the 30,000 sq ft of space remaining in the building across two floors, which have a quoting rent of £26.50/sq ft, the report said.

ADIA bought the building from Scottish Metropolitan in 1993 for £53 million.

The building on Castle Terrace is the Edinburgh base of blue chip tenants including Deloitte, KPMG and fund managers Martin Currie.