One of Bristol’s highest-profile office buildings has been bought by a specialist investment firm for £4.6m.
St James Court, a five-storey 36,488 sq ft building, is let to a number of tenants, including the office equipment finance division of BNP Paribas and bakery chain Greggs. Some 72% of the income is secured to RBS until July 2016, although it does not occupy the building.
The sale represents a net initial yield of 11.9% and a capital value of £126 per sq ft. 
Bristol chartered surveyors Hartnell Taylor Cook acted with London-based agents MacLaren & Partners on the sale for owner Sanderling Estates, a Glasgow-based property investment fund.
The building, close to Bristol bus station and the Broadmead shopping area, has been acquired by London-based specialist investment management company Kames Capital, which acquired the 60,000 sq ft six-storey mixed office/retail building Embassy House on the Triangle in Clifton last year.
Hartnell Taylor Cook investment partner at Ian Lambert said “The property generated a good level of interest with prospective purchasers attracted by the quality of the building, secure income stream and asset management initiatives offered by the fact that RBS are not in occupation.”
The building remained empty for several years after it was built before being occupied by law firm Clarke Willmott. The firm has since moved.
