A joint venture in Leeds will see new developments underway at Wellington Place.
Hermes Investment Management, the £26 billion manager focused on delivering superior, sustainable, risk adjusted returns to its clients – responsibly, and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), a professional investment management organisation that invests on behalf of 19 million Canada Pension Plan contributors and beneficiaries, have entered into a new joint venture on land at Wellington Place in Leeds. As a result, a further development of approximately eight acres will be unlocked, with outlined planning permission for 1,000,000 sq ft.
Developer and asset manager, MEPC is currently developing the site at Wellington Place, which to date has seen 215,000 sq ft of state-of-the-art office and leisure space delivered; 75 per cent of which is currently let. The latest addition to the development is 5 Wellington Place, a 75,257 sq ft office and retail space that was completed in July.
The partnership is committed to providing a long-term sustainable development for the site and is actively pursuing a number of pre-let opportunities.
Chris Taylor, Head of Private Markets at Hermes Investment Management said: “As like-minded, long term, risk aware investors, our partnership with CPPIB continues to go from strength-to-strength as we move into the next phase of Wellington Place. Through this partnership, we are able to continue bringing regional development projects like this to fruition by means of a sustainable approach to regeneration.”
Andrea Orlandi, Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Investments – Europe at CPPIB added:“We are pleased to expand on our existing commitment to the development of the Wellington Place project in Leeds. The next phase of the project remains well-aligned with our long-term investment strategy of working with like-minded partners like Hermes Investment Management to acquire high-quality, well-located real estate.”
James Dipple, CEO of MEPC also commented: “The success of this project is underpinned by the commitment of two major international investors. Wellington Place is and will continue to be a development that promotes a healthy and active work life balance with features such as an onsite fitness facility and social café.”
