UK-based property investment firm AshbyCapital has acquired a 50% stake in Fitzroy Place, the recently completed freehold office-led mixed-use development in London's Fitzrovia.
AshbyCapital purchased the stake, which was marketed by CBRE, from Iceland's Kaupthing for £217.1 mln (€255 mln). Aviva Investors has retained its 50% share of ownership, which it has held since it acquired the site in 2009.
'The quality of Fitzroy Place, combined with the rarity of a scheme of this scale in such a desirable West End location, makes this an attractive proposition,' Peter Ferrari, CEO at AshbyCapital. 'With The West End Project – a new £40 mln public realm investment – now under way, and The Elizabeth Line and the £1 bn transformation of Tottenham Court Road Station set to make this one of London's busiest transport hubs, we are hugely excited about the future of this area. We are also very pleased to be partnering with Aviva, one of the UK's strongest financial institutions.'
Set around a new garden square, the first in W1 for 100 years, Fitzroy Place comprises 20,580 m2 of office space across two buildings, as well as 1,830 m2 of retail space at ground and basement levels and a 894 m2 healthcare unit - let to UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The development also includes 235 private luxury residential apartments and 54 affordable homes.
The offices are let to eight tenants, with 1 Fitzroy Place – a 13,935 m2 headquarters building – the new UK head office of cosmetics firm Estée Lauder.
Fitzroy Place is AshbyCapital's second investment in the West End of London. The company is already working with Exemplar and Bedford Estates on The Avenue, a new office and retail development on Tottenham Court Road set to complete early next year. Designed by RIBA Stirling Prize nominees Bennetts Associates, it will offer 6,623 m2 of office space and 1,300 m2 of retail space.
Heidi Wade, senior director for London investment properties at CBRE, said: 'We are delighted to have advised Kaupthing on the sale of its 50% interest in Fitzroy Place to AshbyCapital. Undeterred by the news of Brexit, investors from across the world were attracted by the long term secure income and exceptional building quality. This transaction is a boost for the market and demonstrates continued investor demand for London'.
CBRE acted for Kaupthing; Savills acted for AshbyCapital.
