Impact investor Bridges Fund Management and UK developer HUB have acquired a £39m (€44.6m) commercial building in London to be repurposed into a residential scheme.
The firms have acquired the 150 Minories building in Aldgate in a deal that represents the 12th for the pair and is the latest project as part of the office-to-residential repurposing strategy developed by the partnership’s HubCap platform.
HubCap’s strategy is to revitalise underutilised areas of cities by identifying and converting suitable sites. The platform aims to introduce a more diverse mix of uses, especially housing, in city centres.
HubCap currently has five projects under development between London and Edinburgh with a combined gross development value of £330m.
Miles Keeley, principal at HubCap, said: “There is a chronic need for more good quality, sustainable housing in the City of London, so that people can continue living and working there. 150 Minories will deliver up to 300 new homes to help meet this need.
“This part of Aldgate is poised for major revitalisation, and we look forward to playing our part through this transformative development.”
Simon Ringer, head of property funds at Bridges Fund Management, said: “This acquisition continues our focus on needs-driven real estate sectors where there is growing occupational and investment demand. Over the last decade, we’ve developed thousands of highly sustainable lower-cost homes in areas where there is a clear shortage of quality housing.
“But as we think about the transition to net zero, it’s also important that we think about how we can reduce the embodied carbon involved in housebuilding. Clearly, over the last few years there have been significant changes in the way we live and work, which has left a number of buildings in fantastic locations that are ripe for repurposing and refurbishment.”
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