Ping An Insurance, China’s second-largest life assurer by number of policyholders, has become the latest Asian investor to gain a foothold in the City of London property market, buying the Lloyd’s Building in a £260m deal.
The insurer – the first from China to buy in the London market – acquired the distinctive “inside-out” building from Commerzbank, the German lender.
The Richard Rogers-designed building, which is home to the world’s largest insurance market, was bought on a net yield of 6.1 per cent – slightly above average for the City. Jon Crossfield, director at Savills, one of the estate agencies overseeing the sale, said it was a “high-profile and confident entry into the market”.