KanAm Grund Group has received a green light from the City of London for its first redevelopment project.

The Frankfurt-based fund manager has recently been building up its development capabilities and will overhaul a 1960s building at 7 Princes Street, EC2, in the heart of London’s financial district.

Princes Court redevelopment project in the City of London

Source: KanAm Grund Group

The building was acquired by KanAm in 2019 and will redeveloped as Princes Court, “to the highest sustainability standards, with numerous amenities on offer to future occupiers”, according to KanAm.

Olivier Catusse, managing partner at KanAm, said: “We have made a deliberate strategic change within the organisation in the past 18 months and strengthened our development team throughout Europe in order to not only acquire and manage high-quality real estate for our investors, but also to be able to actively participate in its creation – in this case through redevelopment.”

The project, developed with Morgan Capital as development manager, and designed by architectural firm Aukett Swanke, will take the original 1960s building back to its frame, add two new floors and install a new façade to create a nine-storey, 54,000sqft building.

Olivier Catusse

Source: KanAm Grund Group

Olivier Catusse: ‘deliberate strategic change within the organisation’

“We will soon start with the implementation of the project, which reflects exactly what we have set as our corporate goal: to offer sustainable real estate with attractive and long-term performance prospects for our investors,” Catusse said.

KanAm said the redeveloped building would “sit harmoniously alongside the important heritage assets that surround it, while targeting the highest BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating. The site is directly opposite the Bank of England and next to luxury hotel The Ned and Grocer’s Hall.

Construction is scheduled to begin later this year, with completion planned for the first quarter of 2024.

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