Canada's HOOPP throws weight behind London redevelopment

Canadian pension fund HOOPP has added another brick to its European real estate investment strategy by teaming up with developer-investor Helical Bar on a redevelopment project in the City of London.

The Creechurch Place project at Mitre Square in the City of London will comprise 25,200 m2 net internal area of offices set across 17 floors and 186 m2 of retail space on the ground floor. Demolition to ground level has already been completed and the project, which will be built by Skanska, is due to be started shortly and is expected to complete by the fourth quarter of 2016.

The City of London Corporation has granted a new long lease to the JV company.

HOOPP (Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan) and Helical Bar will fund the project on a 90:10 basis, with Helical Bar acting as development manager. HOOPP was advised by Cushman & Wakefield, Helical Bar by Savills and Ingleby Trice, and the City of London by Jones Lang LaSalle.

Jeff Wendling, chief investment officer at HOOPP, said: 'We are delighted to be working with Helical Bar on Creechurch Place as part of our expanding UK platform, which includes our successful partnership with The Crown Estate in the development of St James’s Gateway, Piccadilly; and our co-venture with Verdion in the industrial sector.'

HOOPP has CA$52 bn (€32 bn) of assets under management. The pension fund has been deepening its involvement in European real estate in recent years. In London, it cooperated with The Crown Estate on the £100 mln St James’s Gateway mixed-use development that was completed in the West End last year.

On the Continent, HOOPP entered into a €1 bn joint venture with investor-developer Verdion in October 2013 to develop 1 million m2 of new logistics space across Europe. It also invests, mainly indirectly, in European shopping centres and retail assets via its backing for Meyer Bergman's two European Retail Partners funds.