Zhang Songqiao (file photo)

Chinese real estate magnate Zhang Songqiao’s investment firm has purchased a London property for 1.14 billion pounds.

Zhang’s Y. T. Realty Group announced the purchase of Cheesegrater, one of London's tallest commercial towers, on May 1. The building was valued at 1.15 billion pounds on March 31.

The London-based Financial Times predicted days earlier that the transaction would be the biggest ever sale of a U.K. building to a Chinese enterprise. The sale comes after a 2016 purchase of One Kingdom Street in London. The group also spent 12 million Hong Kong dollars to purchase a 34.55 percent stake in an Australia office building.

Zhang’s Y. T. Realty Group is based in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province. However, the group has diverted its focus from the domestic market to major cities around the globe, as shown by the group's 2016 annual report. Lin Xiwen, vice chairman and general manager of Y.T. Realty Group, said at a meeting last year that the company had emptied its mainland land reserve.