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 [email protected].
Canary Wharf Group has announced that its shareholders, Brookfield and the Qatar Investment Authority, have committed £400M to the company by way of a £300M equity subscription and a £100M revolving credit facility.
The proceeds will be used to complete the strategic repositioning of Canary Wharf and build out additional residential and life sciences projects on the estate, the company said. The deal follows the £309M refinancing of Canary Wharf’s Newfoundland residential property in March.
CWG’s portfolio comprises 33 properties, with 3,500 people living at Canary Wharf and over 54 million visitors last year. As of June 30, Canary Wharf Group Investment Holdings had £3.3B of net assets, £312M cash on balance sheet as well as available and undrawn commitments of £130M in revolving credit facilities with its relationship banks, the company said.
“We have transformed the estate into a thriving, sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood with award-winning homes, an abundance of amenities and parks, a strong and unique retail offer, and a diverse office portfolio with an expanding life sciences offer,” CWG CEO Shobi Khan said in a statement.
ACQUISITIONS
ICG Real Estate has completed the purchase of a portfolio of freehold digital infrastructure assets in Central London, which are let to Vodafone UK.
Upon completion of the acquisition, ICG SRE and Vodafone have renegotiated the existing leases, extending them to 2048 and including Retail Prices Index linked increases. The 260K SF portfolio comprises five data exchanges for Vodafone’s customers.
ICG SRE is a pan-European strategy that specialises in partnering with corporates to acquire mission-critical assets, primarily through sale-leaseback deals, the company said.
FINANCE
Goodstone Living has established its first fund targeting the build-to-rent residential real estate sector following the final close of Goodstone Living Partners 1.
The fund has secured equity investments from a number of UK and international investors including Northern Local Government Pension Scheme, providing the real estate developer and investment manager with over £550M of investment capacity.
With a “develop-to-hold” investment strategy, the fund’s initial portfolio comprises almost 1,000 homes already under construction in Edinburgh and Birmingham, and it will be the primary vehicle for Goodstone Living’s pipeline of development and turnkey opportunities.
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Real estate finance and investor TAB has completed a private securitisation facility with NatWest and Atalaya Capital Management of up to £300M to support TAB’s lending products.
Both funding partners support TAB's commitment to offering ESG-focused mortgage loans to borrowers, prioritising sustainable and responsible business practices, the company said.
As part of the funding line, Atalaya Capital Management is strengthening its partnership with TAB by providing mezzanine notes for the facility following a £120M revolving credit facility that closed in 2022.
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UK-focused real estate investment manager Newcore Capital is planning to raise up to £375M for a new core-plus strategy.
The Newcore Sustainable Income Trust is due to launch by the end of Q4 and will focus on acquiring fully functional real estate assets at sustainable prices to create a diversified, income-producing portfolio, using only moderate leverage (up to 30% loan-to-value ratio), the company said.
In line with Newcore’s previous strategies, acquisitions will be UK focussed, principally London and the south east, as well as regional centres with strong local economies.
Sectors of focus include education, waste management, medical research and pathology, storage, clinical healthcare and transport.
DEVELOPMENT
LaSalle Investment Management and Trilogy Real Estate have won their planning appeal to secure planning consent for a 940K SF second phase of Republic, their innovation campus at London’s East India Dock.
This consent provides the opportunity to bring the total accommodation at Republic to more than 1.28M SF.
The planning application was taken to appeal after Tower Hamlets Council’s planning committee initially refused permission in October 2022.
This decision gives detailed planning consent for 150 private rental residences in a 30-storey building of 225K SF and outlines planning consent for a 376K SF data centre and a 64K SF studio workspace building containing up to an additional 7K SF for community use.
“The next phase of Republic builds upon the strengths of the development and our location. We’re also adding capacity at one of the UK’s most in-demand hubs for data centres, providing vital infrastructure that will support future jobs,” Trilogy Real Estate CEO Robert Wolstenholme said in a statement.
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Developer Landsec has submitted plans for its next major office scheme in London, a 20-storey mixed-use tower to replace Hill House, a 1970s concrete building on a site just north of Fleet Street.
Should planning permission be granted, construction is expected to start in 2025. Three London contractors — Mace, Multiplex and Skanska — are reportedly in talks with Landsec to build the 600K SF project, which is worth around £300M.
The project will be located at the corner of Shoe Lane and Little New Street. As well as office space, the building will provide a home for the displaced Shoe Lane public library at street level, a gym in the basement and a rooftop destination restaurant.
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London investor-developer Avanton, acting as development partner with real estate investment group Israel Canada, has gained planning permission from the London borough of Brent for Stonebridge Place.
The residential-led project has a £300M gross development value and will provide 515 homes alongside commercial space at a site formerly known as Wembley Point in Stonebridge Park, Brent.
Designed by architect Patel Taylor, Stonebridge will include a 32-storey tower finished in terracotta, which upon completion in 2027 will be the tallest building in Brent, according to Avanton.
