Vatican suffers £100mn-plus loss on Knightsbridge office sale

London estate agents puzzled by decline in value for prime property on Sloane Avenue

During the Vatican’s eight-year ownership of the building, the value of high-end London offices has risen fast, and the lossmaking sale has raised eyebrows among the capital’s top estate agents.

“It’s surprising . . . It’s not as if capital values have gone down in prime central London in that time, quite the opposite. Maybe [the Vatican] overpaid to assemble the deal and undersold to exit from it,” said one.

The loss “makes no sense”, said another.

The Vatican has made a loss of more than £100mn on the sale of a luxurious Knightsbridge office at the centre of a criminal investigation that has embroiled the Holy See.

The Vatican announced on Friday that it had completed the sale of 60 Sloane Avenue in west London to private equity group Bain Capital for £186mn.

https://www.ft.com/content/3cecd61a-73e2-4e59-8438-dc9daec790d2

Bridge financing is defined as financing that helps procure short-term loans. Who are the Knights? Bain/Bane