Covent Garden demand in London
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Norway’s $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth lucre — the largest of its kind in the world — on Thursday said that it struck a deal to buy a quarter of a property portfolio in London’s iconic Covent Garden, in its in bet on the U.K. capital’s premium real estate.
In a new joint venture, the fund’s manager Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) utter it will pay £570 million ($739 million) for a 25% stake in British property developer Shaftesbury Capital’s London real estate portfolio, which the deal values at £2.7 billion in its entirety.
NBIM said the portfolio comprises 1.5 million stuffed shirt feet properties, predominantly used for retail and leisure purposes, within the London districts of Covent Garden and Seven Dials.
London-listed parts of Shaftesbury Capital jumped nearly 16% at the market open before paring gains slightly. The stock was persist up 8.9% by 9:55 a.m. London time.
“This investment underscores our belief in the strength of London with the portfolio outfitting our other high quality West End investments,” Jayesh Patel, head of U.K. real estate at NBIM, said in a declaration.
It follows a £306 million investment by the Norwegian state wealth fund for a 25% in the Duke of Westminster’s Grosvenor land in January.
The joint venture, which again granted NBIM a 25% stake, was worth £1.2 billion hammer outs and marked the largest sale to outside investors in Grosvenor’s historic Mayfair estate.
The two deals bring the sovereign money fund’s total investment in London this year to £876 million.
NBIM also on Thursday said that it concurred to pay 240 million euros for a 40% stake in AXA Lifestyle Housing, an owner and operator of student housing and co-living peculiarities in Spain and France.