The London office of Hines has announced that it has acquired Gartmore House, Fenchurch Place in London from private investors. The five-story, 8,705-m² office building sits directly above London's Fenchurch Street mainline rail station, which, with more than 17 million passengers every year, is one of the city's busiest commuter stations.
The project, now the fifth asset purchased within 12 months by Hines European Value Added Fund (HEVAF), is fully leased to Gartmore Investment Management Plc, a global investment organization, until 2012. Gartmore House was originally developed by Norwich Union Real Estate in 1987.
Hines UK Director Andrew Reynolds said: "Gartmore House is located in a thriving business district within the City of London where demand for quality office space is increasing. We are keen to work with Gartmore to ensure its future requirements are met."
"This acquisition signals our continued commitment to building the Hines name in Europe as a world-class investment manager," said Hines Executive Vice President Michael Topham. "Having initiated and managed 21 funds worldwide since 1991, we continue to seek out top opportunities for our European fund initiatives targeting development, value added and core strategies."
"We are very pleased to further diversify our investments with Gartmore House being the first HEVAF acquisition in the UK. The Fund has now successfully placed almost half of its capital commitments within one year" added Lars Huber, HEVAF fund manager and Hines Europe director.
Hines UK also announced that it has hired Anthony Havelock, formerly of ING Real Estate, who will be responsible for acquisitions in the UK for the Hines European Value Added and Core Funds.
Source: Hines
