One of Birmingham's most prominent city centre office blocks has been sold to Middle East investors for £140 million.

The Lewis Building and its neighbour Priory Court, in Bull Street, have been bought from the property arm of Legal & General by Gulf Islamic Investments which has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

LGIM Real Assets acquired Priory Court and Temple Court, as it was then known, in 2014 for £87.5 million before carrying out a wholesale revamp and relaunching the latter in 2017 as The Lewis Building.

The rebrand was a nod to the site's original use as a Lewis's Department store when it opened there in the 1920s but closed in 1991 after the company fell into administration.

Since the regeneration was completed, lettings have been secured with the Ministry of Justice, serviced offices provider Spaces and investment group BGF.

The sale is said to be the UK's largest office transaction outside of London this year.

Will Edwards, senior fund manager at LGIM Real Assets, said: "The sale of Priory Court and The Lewis Building marks the successful completion of the asset business plan and is testament to the skills and capabilities of our team of asset managers."

Pankaj Gupta, co-founder of Gulf Islamic Investments, added: "Despite the challenging times and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, Gulf Islamic Investments is immensely delighted to expand its investment portfolio in the UK through another high-quality, long-income yielding asset for its clients, endorsing our strong belief in the UK real estate market.

"This transaction reflects well on our growing expertise in acquiring such marquee assets and positions us as an active and major real estate player in the region."

CBRE acted for Legal & General while Gulf Islamic Investments was advised by Rasmala Investment Bank.