Blackstone has invested more than $2bn for its global core-plus real estate strategy and has already begun selling off interests to other investors.
Blackstone Real Estate Partners has sold an 18% stake in Alban Gate, a London City office building it wholly acquired this year, to the Virginia Retirement System for €67m.
Blackstone’s acquisition of Alban Gate at 125 London Wall was one of a number of deals the company has made for its core-plus investment programme which now totals some $2.1bn.
Blackstone is traditionally known as an opportunistic investor, but it is using its scale to acquire large core-plus assets with a view to selling stakes to third-party investors.
It will target major markets in Europe and the US, starting with the office sector, according to sources familiar with the strategy. These are likely to include London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York City, San Francisco and Washington DC.
Alban Gate is the second deal core-plus deal involving Blackstone and Virginia Retirement System. Earlier this year, Blackstone sold a $200m interest to the pension fund in the $968m EDENS Investment Trust, a privately held shopping centre company that operates along the East Coast of the US.
Blackstone has also bought a 49% stake in the 1.6m sqft One Market Plaza office building in downtown San Francisco for $600m.
The interest was acquired from Morgan Stanley. The balance is held by The Paramount Group.
Blackstone is planning to sell interests in One Market Plaza in the future, according to sources familiar with the matter.
