Aberdeen, the UK-based investment firm, is once again turning heads in the Korean commercial real estate market. The firm has signed an MOU to sell its portion of Samwon Tower to Pacific Investment Management, adding another solid exit to its track record in a market where precise timing drives outperformance.

Aberdeen acquired floors 11 to 20 of Samwon Tower in 2019 for roughly $92.6 million (approx. $8,800/㎡). It is now offloading the property for around $112 million, or $10,600/㎡. The buyer, Pacific Investment Management, is reportedly backed by a strategic investor (SI).

Samwon Tower itself is a 41,365㎡ office building in Gangnam with 20 above-ground and 5 underground floors. Floors 1–10 are still owned by Samwon Steel, while Aberdeen has held the upper half. Notably, the asset was held under a strata title ownership structure—an arrangement often seen as limiting for institutional buyers due to its shared control complexities.

Although the asset had partial ownership complications, Aberdeen’s timing and pricing are expected to yield a 50% return based on an estimated $38 million equity investment using typical 60–70% leverage.

Just this past Q1, Aberdeen sold Crystal Square, a premium office property in Euljiro, to LB Asset Management for approximately $159 million (~$11,200/㎡). The deal was notable not only for the pricing but also for the strategic investor involved—Leadcorp, financial arm of M2N (Sillajen’s major shareholder).

Aberdeen originally acquired the newly built Crystal Square in 2021 from Capital Land Investment Management for $115 million (~$8,800/㎡). With a similar equity outlay of about $38 million, the firm made a $44 million capital gain in less than four years.

Aberdeen has repeatedly delivered strong returns through opportunistic investing:

• In 2018, it sold the former Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering HQ (now iM Finance Center) in central Seoul for $146 million, a 30% gain in just two years.

• In 2020, it exited BNK Digital Tower (formerly Platinum Tower) for $243 million, after resolving complex co-ownership issues following a 2012 acquisition at $153 million.

These plays reflect a consistent strategy: buy mispriced or complicated assets, add value, exit with precise timing.

Aberdeen is currently in advanced talks with Pebblestone Asset Management to acquire Pacific Tower in Seosomun-dong. Although it withdrew from a bidding round late last year, it has returned to the table, betting on the upside once nearby redevelopment projects—including the Donghwa Building, JoongAng Ilbo HQ, and Seosomun Building—are completed.

An industry source commented, “Aberdeen operates with discipline. Their timing and execution show how institutional players can thrive in Korea's relatively opaque market.”

For that reason, market participants keep a close eye on Aberdeen—not just on what they sell, but what they’re buying next.

This article was originally published by Corebeat on May 28, 2025.