Taylor Wessing has acted on behalf of the buyer, a private investor, on the purchase of one of London's most iconic buildings, the Gherkin.  The client has agreed to acquire the office tower at 30 St Mary Axe in the City of London from Deloitte LLP, the building's receivers.

Completed in 2004, the Gherkin comprises 505,000 sq ft of offices with tenants including Swiss Re and Kirkland & Ellis.

Paul Lawrence, Real Estate partner at Taylor Wessing said:

"The purchase of 30 St Mary Axe is indicative of a trend we have been seeing in the real estate market over the last twelve to eighteen months. In a move away from investment in pure dry commercial assets, or the purchase of high end residential properties for personal use, high net worth investors are now seeking high quality commercial real estate opportunities with excellent value growth potential.

London remains the city of choice for international investment and we are regularly acting for investors coming into the capital from across the globe, with prime assets being purchased by Asian, Middle Eastern and North American buyers.

It has been a pleasure working with the client on what is one of the most high profile real estate transactions of the year, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to make the building even more desirable."

Paul Lawrence, Real Estate partner led a substantial cross departmental Taylor Wessing team, which included Corporate partner Ronald Graham and Tax partner Rob Young.