Hines buys prime West End asset in London

Hines buys prime West End asset in London
Film House

Hines has acquired the 103,000 square foot, Film House, in the West End of London, on behalf of its Hines European Value Fund 3 (HEVF 3).

Film House is a landmark building with 94,000 square feet of office and 9,000 square feet of restaurant space in Wardour Street and marks HEVF 3’s third investment.

Situated within the heart of London’s renowned Soho area, the vacant office building will be refurbished by Hines to comprise high quality workspace with embedded ESG credentials and excellent public transport connectivity including the Elizabeth Line. Built in the late 1920s, Film House is known for its cinematic ties and was Nike’s former London headquarters.

HEVF 3’s objective is to acquire a value-add portfolio diversified in all major real estate sectors across primary European markets. A key emphasis of the fund series is proprietary deal origination and execution through Hines’ 17 local office teams in Europe.

In keeping with the HEVF series, HEVF 3 aims to pursue the highest ESG certifications and performance for each asset it acquires. Film House seeks to target BREEAM Excellent, WELL Platinum, EPC A and a net zero carbon operational strategy.

Paul White, Senior Managing Director and HEVF 3 Fund Manager, at Hines, commented: “The market environment remains challenging, and as a fund we have exercised high discipline over pipeline for the last year, despite raising a great deal of dry powder. When our origination channels do deliver a quality asset, in one of our most favoured locations in all of Europe, and with the potential to achieve top ESG credentials – we will invest. Film House is a third flagship acquisition, and we will now apply the full Hines skillset seeking to create additional value here.”

Jake Walsh, Managing Director, Hines in the UK: “Our focus is continuing to deliver high quality space in superb locations with first class ESG credentials for occupiers. Film House is testament to this, we have secured the asset in one of the West End’s most sought after locations against a backdrop of acute undersupply of Grade A next generation office stock in Central London. Given this prized location with unparalleled transport links, it once again demonstrates our conviction in the central London office market for the right prime opportunities.”

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