Canada Pension Plan Investment Board will invest £179 million (€207 million) for a 50% stake in eight central London office properties owned by the BT Pension Scheme and managed by Hermes Real Estate Investment Management.
The investors say they plan to double the size of the property portfolio with exposure to similar types of real estate.
Hermes Fund Managers is the in-house asset manager of the BT Pension Scheme, which is one of the largest private pension funds in the UK with £38.7 billion under management.
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board manages assets of the Canadian public pension fund and had 183 billion Canadian dollars (€135 billion) under management at the end of March.
“This acquisition is in line with our strategy to capitalise on attractive opportunities in the London office market and invest alongside well-aligned partners,” says Graeme Eadie, head of real estate investments, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
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