$1B price tag for 'Erotic Gherkin'

Photos

30 St Mary Axe + Tower of London

see larger image

uploaded by testpatern

• 

  uploaded by testpatern | add comment

• 

  uploaded by overland07 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by overland07 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by overland07 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by mm292149 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by darrenjle15 | add comment

• 

  uploaded by stewmackay | add comment

• 

  uploaded by ChrisBassett | add comment

• 

  uploaded by ChrisBassett | add comment

• 

  uploaded by Davermouse | add comment

Videos

The Gherkin Timelapse

see larger video

sourced by clorenz1

• 

  Created by clorenz1 | add comment

• 

  Created by clorenz1 | add comment

• 

  Created by clorenz1 | add comment

• 

  Created by clorenz1 | add comment

ZURICH, Switzerland (Reuters) -- Swiss Reinsurance Co. said
Monday it agreed to sell its London headquarters, the 40-story glass
skyscraper to a German real-estate company for 600 million pounds
(US$1.18 billion).

The skyscraper at 30 St. Mary Axe, nicknamed
"The Gherkin" -- or more cheekily, "The Erotic Gherkin" --because of
its resemblance to a pickle, can be seen from far outside the center of
the capital.

Designed by Norman Foster, the building won the top
prize in British architecture in 2004, the Royal Institute of British
Architects' Stirling Prize.

Swiss Re, one of the world's largest
reinsurance companies, had said in September that it was considering a
sale. It will remain as a tenant after the sale to real-estate
corporation IVG Immobilien AG.

"In IVG Immobilien AG we have
found a future owner who will maintain and preserve the superior
quality of this outstanding property," Swiss Re Chief Executive Jacques
Aigrain said.

Wolfhard Leichnitz, chief executive of IVG
Immobilien, called the property "an attractive investment for our funds
investors, not only visually but also from an investment perspective."

The transaction is expected to close in February, Swiss Re said in a statement.

Shares in Swiss Re shares slipped 0.8 percent to 103 Swiss francs (US$82.57) in Zurich.