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.
Pan-European private equity real estate firm DFI has launched Techbox, a £500M UK investment platform, with the £90M off-market acquisition of Catalyst Bicester, a multilet industrial and innovation estate north west of London.
DFI has launched the platform to capitalise on a growing industrial technology subsector that will help meet the UK’s requirement for space to support its advanced manufacturing, R&D and high-tech industrial sectors, the company said.
Courtesy of Blink Image Ltd
A £90M deal has kick-started DFI’s Techbox platform.
The platform is targeting a total gross asset value of £500M and has been seeded with the acquisition of Catalyst Bicester, which was developed by Albion Land.
Phases 1 and 2, which completed in 2022 and 2024, total 181K SF, while Phase 3, with a further 110K SF across five units, is under construction to be delivered by mid-2026.
The eight units are fully let to four multinational tenants: McLaren, a British automotive company; Evolito, an electric aerospace company backed by Oxford Science Enterprises; YASA, a British engineering subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz; and Tesla. CBRE and Colliers have been retained as leasing advisors.
DEALS
Iroko ZEN, a French SCPI, has acquired the 103K SF office building One Lyric Square, Hammersmith, from Schroders. The Grade A office space is fully leased to The Office Group and has a weighted average unexpired lease term of 13 years without breaks.
One Lyric Square was built in the 1970s and underwent a £32M renovation in 2018. This is Knight Frank’s 10th transaction with Iroko and Iroko ZEN’s fourth property acquisition in London since 2024.
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An affiliate of H.I.G. Capital has completed the off-market acquisition of two last-mile logistics estates in Greater London.
The fully occupied properties in Erith and Rainham are positioned along key logistics corridors and were acquired at a “material discount to replacement cost,” H.I.G said, as it described the assets as significantly under-rented, reflecting legacy lease structures.
H.I.G. is planning a phased refurbishment and reconfiguration strategy. H.I.G. Realty’s UK industrial outdoor storage and logistics platform now comprises over 1.5M SF with a gross asset value of over £300M.
FUNDING
Delancey Real Estate has secured a £200M senior loan from L&G Asset Management to refinance Here East, a 1.2M SF creative and innovation campus at the former 2012 Olympic site.
The V&A East Storehouse opened at the site earlier this year, with other tenants including Plexal, The Trampery, Sports Interactive, University of Staffordshire London, Studio Wayne McGregor, University College London and Fiit.
The refinancing follows a competitive process led by CBRE.
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King Street Capital Management and Cohort Capital, along with funds managed by Apollo, have provided a £348M senior loan facility to support the refinancing of the 271-key freehold The Park Tower Hotel, Knightsbridge.
The transaction refinances debt initially provided by Cale Street Partners and continues King Street’s partnership with the property’s long-term owner, Mahdi Al Tajir.
Constructed in 1973, Park Tower is a 16-story property that includes a casino and restaurant Nusr-Et.
DEVELOPMENT
Brockton Everlast has chosen Multiplex under a preconstruction services agreement for the construction of the 450K SF, 23-storey, Grade A office tower The Dovetail Building at One Cutler Street in the City of London.
Designed by architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, the scheme obtained a planning amendment that further reduced total emissions and embodied carbon, increased public realm and shortened the construction timeline.
Deconstruct UK is on-site for the next phase of delivery, with the demolition works complete and piling beginning in November. The redevelopment is scheduled to be completed to a Cat A finish in Q2 2029.
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Great Portland Estates has received planning permission from Southwark Council for the redevelopment of St Thomas Yard, SE1, previously known as New City Court.
The proposals, designed by Orms, are to retain and reuse the 1980s building’s primary structure, significantly reducing embodied carbon and waste, and add five storeys to create an 11-storey office building with balconies and roof terraces.
Across the site, the total net area will increase from approximately 100K SF to 190K SF, and the redevelopment will retain the historic frontages to St Thomas Street and restore the listed Georgian terrace.
The development is expected to commence in summer 2026 and complete in late 2028.
PEOPLE
AXA IM Alts has promoted Steijn Ribbens to CEO of Kadans Science Partner. Steijn has taken over from Michel Leemhuis, who moved to the newly created role of executive chair of the management committee.
Kadans was acquired in 2020 by AXA IM Alts on behalf of clients, and its portfolio has more than doubled to nearly 4M SF across 30 science facilities. It has 2.5M SF under development across 18 projects, including one of Europe’s largest purpose-built life sciences buildings in Canary Wharf.
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Mark England, previously chief operating officer, has been appointed CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate UK. He succeeds Etienne Prongué, who becomes head of the international investment group.
Jean-Maxime Jouis, currently BNP Paribas Real Estate global head of investment management, is to become deputy CEO of BNP Paribas Real Estate.
Timothée Rauly and John O’Driscoll, currently global co-heads of real estate at AXA IM Alts, will jointly assume the responsibilities of global head of investment management on an interim basis.
This is part of the legal merger between BNP Paribas Asset Management, AXA Investment Managers and BNP Paribas REIM and will continue until the definition of the “target common operating model,” the company said.