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Royal Exchange put up for sale by Anglo Irish
One of the City of London's most prominent and historic buildings is set to be put up for sale as part of the unwinding of Ireland's troubled property debts.
The Royal Exchange in the City was founded in 1565 by merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, who wanted to create a centre of commerce modelled on the stock exchange in Antwerp.
It is now a luxury shopping centre and was acquired by Anglo Irish Bank Private Banking in 2005 for £53m.
However, the wealth management arm of Anglo Irish is being disbanded.
The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formed last year by the merger of troubled Anglo and Irish Nationwide, has agreed a deal to sell the business to investment manager Key Capital, which will offload the properties on its behalf.
According to the IBRC, the deal provides "a vehicle for the sale of certain assets and/or operational co-sourcing of the business to Key Capital in line with IBRC winding down this division of the bank in an orderly manner".
It said this "delivers an opportunity for IBRC to maximise investor returns and deliver value for the Irish taxpayer". However, the deal still needs approval from the Irish government,
Among the other assets to be sold is the upmarket Metquarter shopping centre in Liverpool and the Finsbury Dials office block in the City.
However, the Royal Exchange is likely to receive the most attention as a trophy London asset. Given its title by Queen Elizabeth I in 1571, it was twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt, first in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and again in 1838.
The Grade-I listed building was extensively refurbished in the 1990s, and in 2001 was reopened as a luxury retail centre. Tenants include Hermes, Gucci and Paul Smith.