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U+I and Colony NorthStar launch €300m scheme to spruce up the capital's offices

Property regeneration firm U and I Group has revealed it is to partner with a ‘controlled affiliate’ of Colony NorthStar to create a new platform aimed at investing in the London, Manchester and Dublin office markets.

The joint venture, which will see each partner own a 50% share, will focus on underperforming offices across the three cities and embark on refurbishment, development and asset management programmes to get them back up to standard.

In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange this morning, the pair said that they expected to deploy around €300m over the next investment period, after both U+I and the global private equity firm had made ‘substantial’ resource and capital commitments.

The first two schemes to benefit from the new investment pot include The Record Store at The Old Vinyl Factory in London, and Donnybrook House in Dublin, both of which will benefit from major refurb work where they will be repositioned into creative office spaces.

Following the announcement of the new venture, Matthew Weiner, Chief Executive of U+I, said: “We’re delighted to be partnering again with Colony NorthStar. The specialist platform will target opportunities to develop high quality office space where there are limited options for new build.

“There is currently a shortage of offices across U+I’s core locations which provide the right space or environment to satisfy the needs of today’s modern enterprises.”

Stefan Jaeger, Managing Director at Colony NorthStar added: “We are excited to broaden our existing relationship with U+I, who we regard as best-in-class partners, to this strategic specialist platform.

“With a high-quality portfolio of seed assets and a strong pipeline in markets with attractive fundamentals, we look forward to creating a preeminent portfolio of Grade A office space and leveraging Colony NorthStar’s expertise in the creation of scalable platforms.”

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