LONDON, July 8 (Reuters) - Chinese insurer Ping An has bought the landmark London home of insurancemarket Lloyds of London for 260 million pounds ($387million), the first in a predicted wave of property deals byChinese companies in London.
A German fund managed by Commerz Real (part of Commerzbank ) sold the building to the Chinese company in a dealthat represents a rental yield of 6.1 percent, broker Savills said in a statement on Monday.
The identity of the buyer was not disclosed but severalsources familiar with the deal named Ping An as the buyer.
Regulatory changes that ease restrictions on mainlandChinese companies investing in overseas real estate are set toadd to the flood of money targeting the best real estate inLondon and other European cities like Paris and Frankfurt.
The Lloyds of London building, which is protected underBritish heritage laws, was designed by architect Richard Rogers.Its air ducts and lifts are on the outside of the building, insimilar fashion to the Centre Pompidou in Paris, which Rogersdesigned with Renzo Piano, the man more recently behind London'sShard tower.