UK: AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets has completed the acquisition of Dolphin Square in London from vendor Westbrook Partners.
The purchase price is undisclosed but pre-pandemic it was thought to be in the region of £850 million.
Dolphin Square is the UK’s largest private residential scheme with 1,233 residential units, which include 165 serviced apartments, 80 corporate housing units and 186 affordable units, with a broad variety of apartment sizes on offer ranging from studio to five-bedrooms.
The estate provides 795,990 square feet of residential accommodation, commercial and amenity space spread across 13 individual houses centred around a 3.5 acre landscaped garden square.
The riverside estate comprises retail and leisure facilities including a fitness club, swimming pool, spa, squash and tennis courts, and a convenience retail arcade. The entire complex is managed by an onsite management company, acquired as part of the transaction.
The estate stands in good condition but presents an opportunity for a wholesale refurbishment over the long-term to enhance its sustainability credentials and provide a modern environment for tenants to live and enjoy.
John O’Driscoll, European head of transactions at AXA IM – Real Assets, said: “Through this transaction we have secured a rare opportunity to acquire a first class, large scale and iconic residential asset in one of London’s most sought after areas as a long term investment on behalf of clients. We are excited to be acquiring this asset and the potential that can be unlocked over the long term; London’s private rented market remains significantly undersupplied and, with over €20 billion invested into the sector globally, residential assets classes which are supported by structural demographical drivers remain one of our high conviction calls.”
Joe Persechino, head of residential and student accommodation at AXA IM, will be speaking on the STAY stage at the Urban Living Festival in London, discussing investment strategies of the future. Click here for more information.
