Legal & General : Mitsubishi Estate London to partner L&G in game-changing Hammersmith Office Scheme

24 June 2016

Legal & General Property, on behalf of its Managed Fund, has sold a 50% stake to Mitsubishi Estate London, in its proposed 250,000 sq ft office scheme at 245 Hammersmith Road, W6. The project has a gross development value of £275m.

The newly formed partnership will speculatively develop the new scheme, designed by Sheppard Robson, which already has planning consent from Hammersmith & Fulham Council. Following the demolition of the existing structure, the joint venture will deliver a high specification scheme that aims to create a vibrant working environment.

The building will consist of a basement, ground and 11 upper storeys and an extensive public realm, including a new urban park and plaza to the Hammersmith Road. The office space has been designed with the floor plates and servicing to provide the maximum level of flexibility. The building also includes four retail or leisure units comprising a further 9,236 sq ft and a 1,184 sq ft work lobby café.

The development is set to create a new benchmark for offices in the Hammersmith area. It maximises open and green spaces to create a flexible and collaborative work environment inside and outside of the building. It is targeting a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating, minimizing embedded carbon and has looked to maximize its social value through a research project jointly funded with the BCO. Situated in a core office location of central Hammersmith, it is close to homes and shops and the Underground and bus services immediately to the west of the building.

Simon Wilkes, Head of Business Space Development, Legal & General Property, said: '245 Hammersmith Road will be much more than just an office building; we are creating a destination with modern working and lifestyle trends at the core of our thinking. It will set a new standard for Hammersmith. There is still a lack of Grade A development taking place which means we are set to benefit from rental growth. We are already seeing high levels of interest from blue chip occupiers, who are particularly drawn to the design and location of the scheme, especially given the competitive nature of the rents compared to the West End.

'Mitsubishi is a proven, credible JV partner, with whom we have a long standing relationship. This is our third partnership together. The award winning Central Saint Giles which has become an exemplar in office development is probably our best known venture together.'

Yuichiro Shioda, Managing Director & CEO of Mitsubishi Estate London Limited, the London based wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's leading developer Mitsubishi Estate said: 'We are delighted to be working again with Legal & General who share many of our core values around excellent design, sustainability and placemaking.

'This will be Mitsubishi Estate London's fifth development, following the recent completion of 8 Finsbury Circus in the City, which already boasts more than 60% of the building let.

'This latest deal further cements Mitsubishi's commitment to an ever expanding London and to flagship office development. We take pride in meeting occupiers' needs and creating a better local environment for communities'.

Construction is due to start next month and the scheme will be completed in the first quarter of 2019. CBRE and Nabarro advised Mitsubishi Estate London. Eversheds advised L&G.

ENDS.

For further information, please contact:

Faye Walters, PR Manager, LGIM Real Assets
Tel: 020 3124 2823

Robert Gibson, Grenadier
Tel: 020 7834 6263 / 07748 182234

Notes to Editors:

LGIM Real Assets is a division of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), one of Europe's largest institutional asset managers and a major global investor. LGIM manages £717bn in assets on behalf of over 3,100 clients (30 September 2015), providing products and solutions spanning all asset classes. LGIM Real Assets, headed up by Bill Hughes, has an aggregate asset value of £21.4bn (31 March 2016) and is responsible for the division's direct investment capabilities in property and infrastructure. LGIM Real Assets is made up of three specialist divisions, Legal & General Property (LGP), its property fund management arm, LGIM Infrastructure, its specialist infrastructure lending and investment division, and Commercial Lending Limited (CLL), its commercial lending arm.

LGP is the fourth largest institutional property fund manager in the UK, managing or co-managing 17 separate funds or vehicles including three segregated mandates with an aggregate asset value of £18.1bn (31 March 2016). These funds include:

• Balanced Funds
  • Life Fund; Linked Pensions; Linked Life; Managed Fund; Legal & General UK Property Fund; UK Property Income Fund I; UK Property Income Fund II; LPI Income Property Fund and the Hybrid Property Fund
• Specialist Pooled Funds
  • The Leisure Fund Limited Partnership; Industrial Property Investment Fund; Arlington Business Parks Partnership; and the English Cities Fund
• Single Asset Vehicles
  • Bracknell Regeneration Partnership; Central Saint Giles Partnership.

LGIM Infrastructure has concluded 18 debt investments to date across all key infrastructure sectors and has a total AUM of around £1.5bn.

CLL has now invested a total of over £1.8bn across 19 deals. Transactions include eight loans to the social housing sector, two loans to the student accommodation sector, two hotel debt deals and two loans to the care home market.

Mitsubishi Estate is Japan's leading real estate developer and one of the world's largest comprehensive real estate companies. Its total assets are around £33bn (31 March 2016) and it currently operates in the US, Singapore, China, and UK.

Mitsubishi Estate London: Since its first acquisition in London in 1985, Mitsubishi Estate London has been developing top quality buildings including Paternoster Square, Bow Bells House, Central St. Giles and 8 Finsbury Circus. Its portfolio exceeds 1 million sq ft. In 2014 it expanded its operation into Continental Europe and acquired an office building in Paris CBD