LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — Flying in the face of the current financial turmoil, the William Morris Agency has sold its former headquarters for a cool $143 million to a consortium of South American investors, the LA Times reported.
The complex of three buildings went for nearly twice current market prices for upscale office space, and WMA nabbed approximately $783 per square foot. Dating from the 1950s, the buildings occupy a commanding location at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive and has attracted considerable interest despite the paucity of credit for such ventures.
"We are extremely happy with the properties," Eduardo Covarrubias, a co-founder of Cape Horn Group, a member of the consortium told the Times "They give us ideal protection from inflation at a time when there is turmoil in the financial sectors," Covarrubias said. "We're putting our money into hard assets that are going to preserve their value."
This won't leave the good folks at WMA on the street though and they are already planning to move 400 or so employees into their new six story headquarters being built for them by George Comfort & Sons. After William Morris takes their exit from their old home, the new owners intend to rent the office space.
"The space is immaculate," David Binswange LA head of Lincoln Properties, a member of the consortium told "William Morris is very image-conscious." – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
