Standard Life Investments has acquired 33 Charlotte Street, London W1, on behalf of its UK Property Fund for a net figure of GBP19.10m.

Acquired from Capital & City, the property comprises offices over five floors, three restaurant units and some residential accommodation. It was purchased off a yield of 5.6 per cent.

Standard Life Investments’ GBP230m UK Property Fund is structured as an authorised property unit trust and invests directly in UK commercial property.

It was launched in October 2005 for internal asset allocation purposes, otherwise being available to investors via Standard Life’s off¬shore bond and Irish unit-¬linked pension products.

In August 2009, the fund was opened to retail investors who are now able to access the fund via Standard Life’s and other major UK platforms.

Nigel Chapman, manager of the UK Property Fund, says: “This acquisition provides the fund with a prime, well specified West End building, multi-¬let to six tenants with an average unexpired lease term of 7.5 years. We anticipate strong rental and capital growth in this sector, and believe that the specific timing of lease events within the building should deliver strong performance to the fund. Furthermore, it increases our West End exposure to c.12 per cent in line with the fund's strategic positioning.

“This is the second purchase we've announced during the last month on behalf of the UK Property Fund, enabling us to reduce our cash position to c. 8.25 per cent. We are currently in active discussions on a number of other opportunities and expect to reduce this position further in the near term.”

Jones Lang LaSalle represented the fund on this acquisition. Knight Frank represented the vendor.