BauMont Real Estate Capital has exchanged contracts to acquire Buildings 4 and 5 on Thames Valley Park in the UK from Microsoft for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition is BauMont’s third in the UK in the last 12 months. The investor plans to comprehensively refurbish the assets with a focus on wellness and sustainability. The development and asset management activities will be undertaken by V7.
‘Buildings need to appeal to employees, not only to attract and retain talent but following recent events, to actually encourage employees to visit the office,’ said Natalie Harrison, head of UK investment at BauMont. ‘They need to offer a wide range of amenities, flexible space suitable for individual and collaborative working and a clean, hygienic environment where employees feel safe and able to circulate without being too close together. TVP 4 & 5 have great potential to deliver this offer. The country park and river surroundings add to the appeal, providing a sense of calm and space and the opportunity to commute to work along the river or exercise in the fresh air, while being less than 2.5 miles from the city centre, soon to benefit from the introduction of Cross Rail.’
Microsoft has centralised its occupation at Thames Valley Park into Buildings 1, 2 and 3, which provide 241,000 sq ft of offices.
The sale excluded Plot 6 which will be subsequently marketed for disposal by Microsoft and provides 4 acres of fully serviced land.
Knight Frank advised Microsoft.
