Three Aberdeen oil company headquarters have been sold in a deal worth £45 million.
The CNOOC, Apache and Taqa buildings at the Prime Four business park in Kingswells have been acquired by EEH Ventures.
The trio of buildings, totalling 275,000 sq ft, were previously owned by Canadian firm BMO.
The financial services powerhouse first bought the buildings in 2014 but took the decision to sell the buildings as part of a “long-standing strategy to reduce their office exposure across the UK”.
The deal was the largest to take place throughout Scotland during the last quarter of 2024.
Trio of buildings snapped up
London headquartered EEH Ventures was founded in 2013 and owns a number of residential, offices, shopping centres and hotels throughout the UK.
All three Kingswells-based buildings were pre-let, designed and constructed by Aberdeen property developer Drum in 2012 on a 15-year lease.
The North Sea headquarters of Middle-East oil firm Taqa has previously been described as “an amazing success story in the Granite City”.
Meanwhile, Apache revealed at the end of last year it is planning to exit the North Sea by the end of 2029 blaming windfall tax.
The US firm first entered the North Sea in 2003 but will wrap up all of its UK operations by 2030.
Aberdeen big deals
The Prime Four acquisition wasn’t the biggest Granite City commercial property sale of 2024.
American private equity firm Lone Star bought Union Square shopping centre from Hammerson for £111m.
Hammerson, who also built the property, had originally been seeking £150m.
BP’s North Sea headquarters in Stoneywood, Aberdeen, was also sold. Manchester-based investor DS Properties is believed to have paid the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme about £16m for the building.
Positive signs for 2025
Looking ahead to this year, Lismore Real Estate Advisors, believes 2025 will be a year of opportunity with a number of significant deals in the pipeline.
Quarter four of 2024 saw £406m of transactions, an increase of 6% from the same quarter in 2023.
Simon Cusiter, Lismore director, said: “The market shows clear signs of recovery, with investment volumes rising, interest rates easing and confidence returning.
“Investor appetite for real estate remains robust but highly selective.
“We expect 2025 to mark a more stable recovery phase, with investors focusing on sectors and locations primed for income growth.”
Mark Fleming, from Savills, who acted on behalf of EEH Ventures, was unable to comment.
CBRE, who handled the sale for BMO, was also unable to comment.
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