This Week's London Deal Sheet
The Deal Sheet is a weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond's biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
Hines has surpassed its fundraising goal in the final closing of the Hines European Value Fund 3. Since its launch in mid-2022, the fund raised more than €1.6B (£1.4B) of equity commitments, exceeding its target of €1.5B. Over €620M in capital was committed in 2023 despite challenging economic conditions and a difficult fundraising environment, Hines said.
The total number of investors in the fund is 35, with a mix of existing and new investors, in addition to Hines' co-investment. Going forward, HEVF 3 will be rebranded as Hines European Real Estate Partners III.
Since its inception, HEVF 3 has allocated more than €300M of equity to assemble an initial portfolio of four assets in three markets. The investment period for the fund is expected to continue until mid-2026 and will prioritize three sectors: purpose-built student accommodation, distribution logistics and highly sustainable office spaces in prime locations. Hines said these sectors have significant unmet demand and present opportunities for ongoing rental growth.
SALES
Savills has bought Nash Bond, a retail agency and lease consultancy business based in central London. The acquisition provides Savills with the opportunity to enhance the strength of its existing 20 central London retail businesses and take advantage of the recovering retail market, the company said.
Nash Bond was founded in 2003 by joint Managing Directors Mark Nash and Andrew Bond. Among its established clients are major London estates such as Cadogan, Crown and Portman, as well as developers and REITs, including Shaftesbury Capital, British Land, Crosstree, Great Portland Estates, Argent, Land Securities and Lendlease.
LEASING
Segro has secured its first customer, BT Group, at its recently completed development, Segro Park Croydon, Redhouse Road.
BT Group has agreed to lease two units totalling 13K SF, which will be occupied by its engineering team alongside the business’s broader operational functions. The units will be used as stock locations, enabling engineers to order and collect a range of key equipment needed for work in the area.
FINANCE
Patrizia and Man Global Private Markets have launched a new joint venture targeting an investment programme of £100M into the development of environmentally and socially sustainable housing for the UK’s affordable sector.
Capital for the JV will be provided by Patrizia Sustainable Communities, a Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation Article 9 impact strategy, and Man Group. Man GPM will act as the operating partner through its community housing team.
The JV will invest in the development of new-build single-family rental homes to help address the acute shortage of quality housing for midmarket renters in locations around England where housing affordability is poor. Sustainability is at the core of the platform, with all homes to be developed to a minimum energy performance certificate A rating, targeting a four-star Home Quality Mark and a zero-operational-carbon footprint.
The JV has already commenced its £100M investment programme, committing to forward funding the development of 70 new-build homes on long-term affordable rents in Milton Keynes, about 50 miles north of London.
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The Social Hub has secured a €566M (£489M) refinancing facility with Aareal Bank and two participating lenders, including Rabobank. Operated under TSH’s hybrid hospitality concept offering coworking, events, hotel, extended-stay rooms and student accommodation, the cross-border portfolio comprises 13 properties across the Netherlands, Spain, France and the UK.
Aareal Bank acted as the arranger, agent and security agent of the senior loan, which is classified by Aareal as a green loan under its own green finance framework.
The Social Hub has nearly 7,000 rooms across Europe and another 3,000 in the pipeline.
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Australian pension fund Aware Super said it will direct £5.25B of investment into the UK and Europe through its newly established London office.
With £83.2B of assets under management, Aware Super has ambitions to grow to £130B of assets under management, with international expansion into the UK a key strategy in achieving that goal. The fund already has £8.84B invested in the UK and Europe.
The fund officially opened its first international office in London this week.
It aims to initially focus direct investments from its new UK headquarters in real estate, infrastructure and private equity, with an emphasis on the energy transition sector, affordable housing, innovation, life sciences, technology and the digital infrastructure sector.
In April, Aware Super entered the UK residential property market with a 22% stake in Get Living, the developer and operator of large-scale build-to-rent neighbourhoods.
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Housing Growth Partnership, the Lloyds-backed equity investor in the UK living sector, has committed £15M of equity to a newly formed joint venture with Cayuga Homes, the Sussex-based property developer. The JV will target the delivery of up to 300 homes for sale along England’s South Coast. It is HGP’s latest investment under its Regional Growth Initiative model.
The JV completed its first acquisition, the Montague Quarter shopping centre in Worthing, in October, with HGP investing £4.2M. Cayuga has secured planning for the delivery of 42 energy-efficient flats above the shopping centre’s commercial tenants, which include TK Maxx, Nandos, HMV, and local shops and restaurants. Construction will begin on-site in January, alongside contractor Trinity Homes, with the scheme due to complete in the third quarter of 2025.
Alongside HGP, Paragon Development Finance has provided the JV with a £14.5M senior acquisition and development facility to support delivery of the scheme.
DEVELOPMENT
Stanhope and Cadillac Fairview have appointed Morgan Lovell to construct 24K SF of grow-on lab space in the MediaWorks Building at White City Place, due for completion in May 2024.
The construction of new grow-on labs for expanding life sciences companies and startups involves delivering private, fully fitted Containment Level 2 laboratory and office space, with sizes ranging from 5K SF to 10K SF and including tissue culture rooms, lab prep, glass cleaning facilities, external exhausted fume cupboards, eye wash stations, and waste and gas store spaces.
Stanhope and Cadillac Fairview have already attracted numerous major and fast-growing life science occupiers to White City Place, including Novartis, Autolus, Engitix, Synthace and Vivan Therapeutics, totalling more than 130K SF.
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Regal London has unveiled plans for the transformation of Orchard Wharf, a site on the north bank of the River Thames in east London.
The new plans, designed by Howells, include approximately 217 new affordable homes, 35% of the total.
Plans also call for about 1,365 student beds, addressing the high demand for student housing in London. Both will be located atop the Wharf Box, sharing a podium with communal facilities that bring residents together. Regal London will invest in activities to enhance the public realm, including small retail and a visitor centre serving existing and emerging communities.
