Oxford Properties, the the real estate arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, has taken a 50% stake in the commercial element of St James's Market scheme in London.
Oxford Properties, the the real estate arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, has taken a 50% stake in the commercial element of St James's Market scheme in London.
The Crown Estate, which manages the British monarch's substantial property holdings, has retained the other half share in the £320 mln (€374 mln) scheme. OMERS is the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System which manages CA$55 bn (€41 bn) of assets.
The joint venture partners will each own 150-year leasehold interests in two blocks located between London's Regent Street and Haymarket. The Crown Estate will retain the freehold and take the lead role to develop and asset manage St James's Market.
The scheme forms part of The Crown Estate's ten year-investment strategy for St James's and, once complete, will provide 19,500 m2 of office space and 4,600 m2 od retail and restaurant space. The Crown Estate owns a total of 370,000 m2 of retail, office and residential space valued at over £1 bn in St James's.
The agreement with Oxford Properties is the third major partnership established by The Crown Estate with foreign equity in central London. The Crown Estate formed the Regent Street Partnership with Norges Bank Investment Management in 2010 and next month the 50:50 limited partnership with Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan is set to deliver £100 million Gateway development.
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