Agents have been instructed to sell Ropemaker Place, the £500m former headquarters of Merrill Lynch near Liverpool Street Station, on behalf of British Land.

The 575,000 sq ft building was developed by the listed property company in 2009 as one of the City’s largest single buildings. Macquarie occupies 217,000 sq ft of space at the building, and other tenants include Bank Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Liberum Capital and Mint Equities.

Located next to City Point Tower, the property is fully let to tenants including Australia’s Macquarie Bank and Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, and generates more than £20 million of rent a year.

Jones Lang LaSalle is thought to have been lined up to handle the sale, which will likely appeal to overseas investors such as sovereign wealth funds.

A sale would help the REIT to fund its extensive development pipeline in central London, where it is increasingly focused on the residential market. Last month, PropertyWeek.com revealed that it was under offer to buy the Clarges Estate in Mayfair, which is likely to offer dozens of super-prime flats overlooking St James’s Park. It is also developing the “Cheesegrater” skyscraper at 122 Leadenhall Street.