A Chinese property tycoon has clinched a deal to buy the tallest building in the City of London, the British capital's financial district.
Zhang Songqiao has reportedly paid 1.02 billion UK pounds to buy 122 Leadenhall Street, or the Leadenhall Building, which is a 225-meter-tall skyscraper, reports the UK's Daily Telegraph.
This is the most expensive building that Chinese investors have purchased in Britain, and the third most expensive real estate in the country.
Nicknamed the 'Cheese Grater', the building was co-developed by British Land and Canada's Oxford Properties, and cost 286 million pounds to build. Construction work started in December 2010, and finished in June, 2013.
This is the second piece of real estate Zhang has bought within the space of a month; he paid 292 million pounds to buy Vodafone's headquarters in London. It's understood he now has four properties in the UK.
"In the fourth quarter of 2016, the number of properties Chinese investors visited with a view to buying increased 22 percent, compared with the third quarter, and the number increased 228 percent compared with one year ago", said Pan Zhuoli, CEO of a Chinese real estate investment website.
Despite market uncertainty since the UK voted to leave the European Union, "their ambitions have recovered since Brexit", added Pan.
(Source: China Plus)
A single purchase
