London's 30 St Mary Axe, the building that you probably know as the Gherkin, has been sold to Brazil's Joseph Safra. The price has not been disclosed but the Finanical Times is reporting that it sold for £726 million (€924m).
The skyscraper is the second tallest building in London and was originally built for Zurich-based reinsurance company Swiss Re. It sold the building for €760 million in 2006 to a fund managed by Germany's IVG Immobilien and UK private equity group Evans Randall.
When they defaulted on loans used to purchase the building, Savills and Deloitte Real Estate were appointed to sell the tower.
More than 200 parties registered interest in purchasing the building.
The eventual buyer, Joseph Safra, 75, is the head of the Safra Group. The company's main interest is financial services.
Forbes rank Mr. Safra as the second richest man in Brazil, valuing his fortune at over €12 billion.
The building opened 10 years ago. It makes use of natural light and ventilation and uses 50 percent less energy than a standard office building.
The Gherkin won the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize for design in 2004.
The plot where it stands was once occupied by the Baltic Exchange, that building was bombed by the IRA in 1992.
