Case study

Gherkin saved from pickle

Standing 180 metres tall in the centre of the City of London, The Gherkin is one of the world’s most iconic buildings and a dominant and popular part of London’s skyline.

When the skyscraper’s owners fell into receivership due to currency fluctuations in May 2014, Deloitte’s Phil Bowers and Neville Kahn were appointed as receivers of the skyscraper and subsequently of the partnership interests in the Bermudian property holding company. Over a period of eight months we implemented a sale process, and found a buyer for the Gherkin, whilst ensuring the building itself remained fully operational.

In preparation for the sale, we (together with Savills) planned and organised a global marketing campaign, visited three continents and met over 60 investors in the space of just three weeks. The Gherkin attracted wide interest from predominantly international investors, and was eventually sold to the Safra Group for a record price in what was the largest single-asset deal of 2014 in the City of London.

By providing continuity between our Restructuring Services and Real Estate teams we made sure there was minimal disruption to the Gherkin’s tenants and that all five senior lenders were repaid in full.

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