HM Revenue & Customs, the taxation part of the UK government, has completed the £115 million acquisition of its headquarters in Croydon in South London.

HMRC has bought 1 Ruskin Square, the 184,000-square-foot office it occupies on Dingwall Road next to East Croydon Station, from the Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund and developer Stanhope – both Develop Croydon partners.

The latest deal is part of a drive to diversify the government’s property portfolio and consolidate its space in a number of office hubs.

An HMRC spokesperson said:

“This acquisition represents value for money and aligns with the government’s property strategy and wider priority of diversifying its property portfolios.”

HMRC first confirmed it was moving to 1 Ruskin Square in 2016.

It was the first commercial letting at the £500 million Ruskin Square development with HMRC taking all of the nine-floor building apart from two ground floor shops on a 25-year lease. The 9-acre Ruskin Square scheme, including up to 2 million square feet of development, has been developed by Stanhope, in conjunction with investor Schroders.

It is the second major acquisition of a government-let building at the development in a year.

In March, Pension Insurance Corporation, the specialist insurer of UK defined benefit pension funds, completed the £267.6 million acquisition of 2 Ruskin Square, a 344,940-square-foot that was let to the Government Property Agency. Due to complete in June 2023, and ready to move into in August 2024, it has been specifically designed for occupation by the Home Office, housing around 3,000 civil servants. They will relocate from other locations around Croydon.

The Government Hubs Programme has set up new offices for around 60,000 civil servants in at least 17 locations across the UK.

Cushman & Wakefield advised HMRC.