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HK firm snaps up London skyscraper

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HONG KONG A Hong Kong property developer has confirmed the near completion of its US$1.47 billion (S$2 billion) purchase of London's "Cheesegrater" tower, as it takes advantage of the pound's slump to snap up addresses in the British capital.

C C Land's acquisition of the 224m-high Leadenhall Building, which earned its nickname from its wedge shape, is the biggest single property purchase in Britain since 2014, when a Qatari wealth fund bought London's HSBC Tower for £1.2 billion( S$2.16 billion).

The pound had plunged after the country voted to leave the European Union in June last year and is currently trading at roughly 12 per cent lower against the dollar.

"Devaluation of the pound is one of the major factors to draw interests to this market," C C Land said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Monday, confirming the purchase from British Land and Oxford Properties.

"Both leasing as well as investment demands in prime office buildings have remained strong." - AFP

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