Chinese insurance giant Ping An has made a big foray into London's City financial district by buying the Lloyd's building for �260 million ($387 million, 302 million euros), estate agency Savills announced on Monday.

Ping An Insurance has agreed to purchase the building from a German investment fund managed by Commerz Real, which is a division of lender Commerzbank.

The Lloyd's building houses insurance market Lloyd's of London.

"This is a potentially landmark transaction," said Jon Crossfield, director within Savills' Central London team.

"It is a high profile and confident entry to the market for them and further illustrates the dominance of overseas investors in London at present."