Hines Secures Acquisition of Prime Edinburgh Mixed-Use Development
Hines, a privately owned global real estate investment firm and sponsor of non-traded REITs, announced today that it has secured the freehold acquisition of 124-125 Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland on behalf of the Hines Pan-European Core Fund. The property was purchased from F&C Commercial Property Trust. The final purchase price was not disclosed by Hines, but the seller was seeking £16.4 million (roughly $25 million).
124 Princes Street is a 15,000-square-foot retail space on the ground, basement and mezzanine levels. The property, which is leased to Urban Outfitters, has recently been extensively refurbished in the tenant’s corporate style.
125 Princess Street provides 23,500 square feet of office space and is fully occupied by numerous tenants including RICS, the Chartered Institute of Housing, MBM Commercial and BDG Design Limited.
Anthony Leonard, managing director of Hines UK, said, “The quality of the building, its excellent location and diverse income profile from both retail and office tenants make this asset a compelling proposition for the Fund. This acquisition also represents a further advance into the retail sector, an area in which we are growing our portfolio of assets under management.”
Steven Newlands, Partner, Capital Markets Group for Cushman & Wakefield in Scotland, marketed the building for F&C Commercial Property Trust. He said, “It is rare for buildings of this quality in an iconic location such as Princes Street to come on the market. 124-125 Princes Street has performed well for F&C since they purchased it over a decade ago and I am sure it will be a terrific investment for Hines Pan-European Core Fund.”
The building, which offers panoramic views of the historic Edinburgh Castle, is surrounded by brands such as New Look, Waterstones, HSBC and Phones 4 U and sits within the heart of Edinburgh’s “Golden Rectangle” – the city’s prime office location.
Jones Lang LaSalle represented Hines, and Cushman & Wakefield represented F&C Commercial Property Trust in the transaction.
Hines Pan-European Core Fund is a Euro-denominated, Luxembourg-regulated Fonds de Commun de Placement managed by Hines and created to acquire a geographically diverse portfolio of core commercial buildings across Europe.
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with locations in 185 cities in 19 countries. Hines has $84.9 billion of assets under management, including $42.7 billion for which Hines provides fiduciary investment management services, and $42.2 billion for which Hines provides third-party property-level services.
