This Week's London Deal Sheet
The Deal Sheet is a weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond's biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
Feldberg Capital, via its recently acquired London real estate investment management business formerly known as Brunswick Property Partners, has reached first close on ReForm, a brown-to-green workplace fund.
The fund will target amenity-rich central London zone 1 locations with connectivity and growth characteristics, such as Soho, Fitzrovia and Marylebone, the company said.
The fund has received significant backing from a cornerstone UK institutional investor and has a fundraising target of £300M, which will provide firepower of around £500M, including leverage.
This will be one of the first UK funds to link a proportion of the manager’s performance fees to pre-determined ESG targets, creating significant alignment between investors’ ESG ambitions and financial returns.
DEALS
Panattoni has bought an industrial development site in Sittingbourne in Kent for £150M, bringing its investment in the south of England to £350M across three acquisitions in 2023.
It has bought a 26-acre, two-unit park totalling 626.5K SF in Sittingbourne from Abrdn for a net-zero carbon development.
It has planning consent for two units spanning 439K SF and 205K SF, which will be speculatively developed. Construction is due to commence at the end of the fourth quarter with a targeted completion date in Q4 2024.
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Real estate investment manager Newcore Capital has acquired four assets for circa £20M, as the manager continues to invest the £190M raised in May for its fifth value-add fund and core-plus strategies, managed on behalf of two UK family offices.
The latest acquisitions come after Newcore spent £25M in July on acquisitions across London and surrounding commuter towns, including an office building with retirement conversion potential in Thames Ditton for £10M, two petrol stations with EV charging potential in Southampton and in Three Bridges for an aggregate £7.5M, and a special educational needs school in Reading for £2.5M.
“These acquisitions represent a continuation of our longstanding investment approach; investing in assets that serve essential societal needs and are thus resilient to the cyclical nature of capital markets, major economic shocks, and the deflationary effects of technological innovation,” Newcore Capital CEO Hugo Llewelyn said in a statement.
SALES
Legal & General Investment Management has appointed Savills to market the freehold of The Beacon shopping centre in Eastbourne with an £80M guide price.
LGIM revamped the former Eastbourne Arndale Centre in 2018, adding a 175K SF leisure extension that brought the total scheme to 350K SF.
The extension is arranged over three floors and contains an additional 22 retail units, seven restaurant units, a nine-screen Cineworld and additional car parking.
LEASING
Nuveen Real Estate has signed three new lettings totalling circa 50K SF at EOS industrial hub, a newly developed Grade A scheme in Braintree, Essex, for its European core-plus logistics strategy.
The EOS industrial scheme achieved practical completion in the summer and comprises nine sustainable, energy-efficient industrial units totalling circa 125K SF of BREEAM-certified space with an energy performance certificate rating of A. Six units are still available for occupation, offering upward of 8,500 SF.
“Braintree is an established industrial and distribution location, with an acute shortage of high-quality industrial space,” Nuveen Director, Investment and Portfolio Management, Europe James Ellis said in a statement. “Our forward funding of EOS has now delivered a new Grade A scheme better suited to today’s warehouse occupier.”
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Fashion retailer Boss has signed a lease for a 2,700 SF store at London Designer Outlet, Wembley Park, located on the first floor near Levi’s, Guess and Replay Jeans.
The LDO opened in October 2013, and Guess, Levi’s, The North Face and Lindt have all upsized their stores. Timberland opened a store at the Quintain-owned 265K SF retail and leisure centre, which includes 70 outlet stores, restaurants and coffee shops, and a nine-screen Cineworld.
The leasing for London Designer Outlet is provided by Realm.
PEOPLE
Europa has appointed Stefano Zucca Marmo as managing director, head of operations.
Based in London, Marmo will be responsible for maximising operational effectiveness and efficiency across the business, including fund operations, fund accounting, tax, real estate finance and IT.
He joins from Precede Capital Partners where he was chief financial officer. Prior to this, Marmo held roles at Patrizia, including as head of accounting and tax, and at JLL.
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Student housing brand and operator Yugo has appointed Joe Persechino as chief operating officer.
From London, he will optimise asset performance, customer engagement and loyalty through Yugo’s three core pillars, YugoEco, YuPro and YuGrow, the company said.
Persechino joins from AXA IM Alts – Real Assets where he was head of residential and student accommodation responsible for strategy, deal origination and investment advice. Prior to that, he held positions at Global Student Accommodation and Unite Group.
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Aviva Investors has appointed Angenika Kunne as head of infrastructure equity. She will join Aviva Investors in January and be based in London, reporting to Ben Sanderson, managing director of real estate and head of active equity.
In her role, Kunne will be responsible for the continued growth of Aviva Investors’ Infrastructure Equity platform across the UK and Europe, including portfolio management and asset origination activities for its Climate Transition Real Assets Fund.
She joins Aviva Investors from White Summit Capital, a private equity real assets investor specialising in the energy transition, decarbonisation and sustainability, where she was co-head of its investment team.
