DWS, acting on behalf of funds managed by its European real estate business, has acquired a Grade A office development in Stratford’s International Quarter London (IQL) for €273m (£242m). This brings DWS’s total investment in Stratford to €694m (£614m), including the newly constructed ‘S5 International Quarter’, acquired in 2016 and majority let to the FCA.
The investment in Stratford marks the third for the platform’s institutional, Pan European, open-ended, core real estate fund, managed out of the UK. This follows the recently acquired portfolio of 12 residential buildings across the Netherlands, and a logistics portfolio comprising six assets across France. This latest acquisition will further enhance the sector diversification of the core Europe fund as its first office property.
Upon completion, the high-quality Stratford building will comprise more than 282,000ft², and is designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating. As the new headquarters for Cancer Research UK and the British Council, the forward funded project will be developed as part of the joint venture between Lendlease and London and Continental Railways (LCR).
“Since identifying the growth potential of this emerging submarket, the development and regeneration of the former London Olympics site have continued at pace,” said Jessica Hardman, Head of Real Estate, UK and Ireland at DWS. “Utilising the best in class skills of our integrated platform, we will continue to identify and target key growth locations across Europe to achieve strong risk-adjusted returns for our investors."
