HK's Gaw, partners buy London building

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong-based private equity firm Gaw Capital Partners and three South Korean investors have teamed up to buy the London headquarters of retailer Marks & Spencer for around US$321 million, adding to a string property deals by Asian investors this year.

Asian investors, including insurers and banks, are buying into European properties as a way to diversify their portfolios as they seek steady yields of between 5 and 6 per cent.

"There is definitely a growing demand from Asian institutional investors in safe commercial and residential real estate purchases abroad," said Christina Gaw, managing principal and head of capital markets at Gaw Capital.