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.
Grosvenor has entered into a joint venture with Norges Bank Investment Management in which NBIM has acquired a 25% stake in a mixed-use portfolio of predominantly office and retail assets clustered around Grosvenor Street and Mount Street for £306M.
The £1.2B portfolio consists of 175 market rent and long-leasehold buildings for which Grosvenor will continue to act as asset, property and development manager.
Grosvenor said it will deploy the funds across its business, including growing its London development pipeline to circa £1.3B and deploying circa £1B across its lending platform. Investments underway include a redevelopment of South Molton and the transformation of Grosvenor Square.
“This partnership brings together two deeply aligned, long-term investors who share huge confidence in the future of the West End and London,” Grosvenor Property UK CEO James Raynor said in a statement. “Facilitating inward investment on this scale will enable us to help drive the West End’s competitiveness and appeal as an economic, cultural and retail centre of global significance.”
DEALS
Greystar has acquired two purpose-built student accommodation assets called The Neighbourhood, located in Cardiff and Exeter, which also marks Greystar's expansion into two new UK cities. It paid £60M for the assets.
The Neighbourhood Exeter, which first opened in 2018, and The Neighbourhood Cardiff, established in 2016, are situated in prime student areas, Greystar said.
“The acquisition of two new PBSA assets in highly sought-after locations aligns perfectly with our strategy to expand our footprint in key student markets across the UK,” Greystar Managing Director - Investment Ben Mowbray said in a statement.
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QuadReal Property Group and Canadian real estate investment and management company Realstar have acquired build-to-rent scheme Allegro, located within One Exchange Square in Birmingham, for £115M.
The 346K SF property has been acquired as a joint venture and comprises 603 units across three buildings connected by a large central garden podium. The development features ground-floor retail and leisure space and amenities including a gym, coworking areas, a roof terrace and 150 car parking spaces.
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M7 Real Estate has acquired Broadheath Network Centre in Greater Manchester for £47M from Network Space Developments.
The acquisition is the first undertaken by M7 on behalf of the newly formed pan-European industrial and logistics joint venture between Oxford Properties and AustralianSuper.
The joint venture, European Supply Chain Income Partnership, is aiming to build a €4.5B portfolio in the next three to five years and was formed through AustralianSuper's acquisition of a 50% stake in Oxford’s €840M industrial and logistics portfolio and its M7 platform.
The 206K SF multilet industrial estate was recently developed by Network Space Developments and comprises 25 high-specification units ranging from 2,100 SF to 41,700 SF.
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Knight Frank has completed the sale of the Theobalds Park Estate in Hertfordshire to Surya Hotels off a guide price of £12.5M.
Knight Frank was appointed as the sole selling agent by the joint fixed charge receivers and joint administrators for Theobalds Park Estate last year.
The property, set in 55 acres of formal gardens and grounds, includes 140 en suite bedrooms, two restaurants, a bar, and meeting and events facilities. It has undergone more than £8M of capital investment since 2020.
Surya intends to refurbish the hotel under its own branding.
LEASING
AXA IM Alts, Public Sector Pension Investment Board, QuadReal Property Group, Temasek and AXA insurance companies have announced that 22 Bishopsgate is now fully let.
RiverStone International, a global acquirer of legacy and discontinued insurance business, has signed a 15-year lease for the entirety of Level 5, which comprises 25K SF and was the last available space in the 1.2M SF, 62-storey building.
AXA IM Alts developed and manages 22 Bishopsgate on behalf of the joint venture, which acquired the site in early 2015 as a partially built development that had stalled in 2012 following the Global Financial Crisis.
CORPORATE
M&G Real Estate and TPG Real Estate have created a £700M joint venture to manage and grow the Active Growth Logistics Partnership.
Created by M&G for its £129B with profits fund, AGLP is the UK’s fourth-largest multilet industrial portfolio at 6M SF, occupied by 630 businesses across the country. The new partnership will see TPG Real Estate acquire a 50% equity stake in AGLP from M&G, with M&G retaining 50% and remaining as asset manager on the portfolio.
M&G and TPG Real Estate aim to drive further value across the platform, including a planned £53M capital expenditure programme to strengthen asset quality and sustainability, the companies said.
FINANCE
Specialist real estate lender Maslow Capital has provided a £54.4M development loan to support a joint venture between CityLife and Torsion Group in delivering a build-to-sell residential scheme in Leeds.
Sky Gardens will transform a nearly 1-acre brownfield site, including a Grade II-listed former mill, into a new scheme comprising 306 residential units across a 32-storey tower and a three-storey refurbished mill.
The development will also feature two commercial units totalling 3,900 SF.
Maslow previously provided a £32.8M development loan for CityLife’s 223-unit Springwell Gardens project in Leeds and supported Torsion with a £55M facility for its 367-apartment residential project in the city.
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Domna, a specialist in home energy efficiency and retrofit services, has received a majority investment from funds advised by Leon Capital to support its expansion plans, with an expected investment of up to £70M.
Formerly known as Hestia, Domna was founded in 2023 by ex-McKinsey partner Anna Moore and ex-British Land Chief Operating Office Chenai Gondo, alongside former Exii Chief Technology Officer Khalim Conn-Kowlessar.
The initial investment by private equity firm Leon Capital will facilitate Domna’s buy-and-build approach, and the company has acquired two retrofit surveying and contracting businesses, The Warmfront Team and Osmosis.
DEVELOPMENT
London living sector developer Astir has outlined its plans for a regeneration project after being granted planning permission to bring forward a major mixed-use scheme at Brent Cross West.
The scheme, which will include 844 student beds across 28 storeys at Geron Way, was approved by Barnet Borough Council's Planning Committee in November. Astir acquired the site in October 2023 and submitted planning in July 2024.
PEOPLE
Singaporean investment management firm Shorea Capital has appointed Adam Starr as its managing director for the UK. Based in London for this newly created role, Starr will lead Shorea’s UK business, overseeing investment and asset management.
Backed by Hwa Hong Corporation, Shorea Capital manages real estate and investment assets for family offices, high net worth individuals and institutional investors.
In London, Shorea Capital is collaborating with Native Land and Stiff + Trevillion to reposition the former Lipton Tea Company headquarters at 188 City Road.
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Royal London Asset Management Property has appointed Craig Sherratt as property operations management and innovation director. He was formerly senior director of real estate equity placement at CBRE.
Prior to his role at CBRE, Sherratt worked at PwC and Royal Bank of Scotland focusing on audit, consulting and finance.
