Hermes, CPPIB buy in London's West End for €220m

UK asset manager Hermes and Canadian pension scheme CPPIB said they have completed the acquisition of Haymarket House in London’s West End for £156 mln (€220 mln).

The 123,000 sq ft (11,700 m2) building was sold from UK REIT Land Securities and includes 87,000 sq ft of offices, which were partly refurbished to Grade A standard in 2012. At the ground and basement floors is 36,000 sq ft of leisure accommodation spread across two units.

'As likeminded, long-term, risk-aware investors our partnership with CPPIB is continuing to go from strength to strength, as is reflected by this most recent acquisition,' said Chris Taylor, head of Private Markets at Hermes Investment Management. 'The purchase of Haymarket House is consistent with the joint venture partnership’s commitment to investing in strong central London assets with significant added value return potential.'

Andrea Orlandi, managing director and head of Real Estate Investments Europe, CPPIB, said: 'The addition of Haymarket House to our joint venture portfolio is a great example of how we continue to advance our partnership with Hermes Investment Management through the acquisition of high-quality assets. We look forward to continuing to work with Hermes Investment Management to further grow our joint venture.'

Hermes Investment Management and CPPIB were represented by Savills, while Capital Real Estate represented Land Securities.

The investment follows last month's purchase by the joint partners of the €233 mln Wellington Place city centre regeneration project in the English city of Leeds.

Located in the centre of Leeds, Wellington Place is being developed and managed by London-listed property company MEPC, which will continue to run the project under the new partnership. The master plan envisages 140,000 m2 of commercial, retail, leisure and residential space.