A fund managed by European real estate investment manager Meyer Bergman has purchased a building on New Oxford Street, connected to London’s principal shopping street, for an undisclosed sum.
The property is close to the upgraded Tottenham Court Road Station, a key stop for the future Crossrail high-speed rail service that is a catalyst for the regeneration of the surrounding area.
Meyer Bergman European Retail Partners III (MBERP III), the firm's latest value-add fund, acquired 112-116 New Oxford Street from a private vendor. The basement, ground and first floors of the 980 m2 building are leased to the coffeehouse Starbucks, the upper floors are designated for office use and are currently vacant.
Meyer Bergman CEO Markus Meijer said: 'The eastern end of Oxford Street is undergoing a complete transformation in anticipation of the opening of Crossrail in 2018, so this purchase is a rare opportunity to capture the benefits of regeneration. The property is well located – just 50 metres from the station – and opposite the iconic Centre Point tower, which itself is undergoing a major redevelopment involving the creation of a new public square.'
The purchase adds to the prime high street properties acquired by MBERP III as it deploys the capital that it is raising in the top shopping destinations in Europe's major capital cities. The fund has pursued this strategy in its investments to date in the centre of Berlin, Dublin and Oslo.
The £14.8 bn (€17.6 bn) Crossrail project is a new high-speed railway line linking Reading and Heathrow Airport, west of London, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, via the city's centre. The service, to be called the Elizabeth Line, is projected to carry 200 million passengers a year, increase central London’s rail capacity by 10% and bring 1.5 million more people across London within a 45-minute commute of the key business districts.
