|
|
|
PRESS RELEASES
Hermes of London Selects Hines as Development/Asset Manager of West London Former Safeway Headquarters Complex
12/09/2005
(LONDON, ENGLAND) – The London office of Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that it has formed a joint venture with Hermes, the UK’s largest pension fund manager, to redevelop and reposition the former Safeway Headquarters complex in Hayes, West London. Recently, supermarket group Wm Morrison’s plc (Morrison’s) sold the 300,000-square-foot, 10-acre development, for $39.4 million to Hermes.
Located on North Hyde Road in Hayes, West London, approximately 1.5 miles north of Heathrow Airport and nine miles west of Central London, the complex is comprised of seven structures – four office buildings, two warehouses and a 700-car garage.
When Morrison’s vacates the site in March 2006, as development and asset manager, Hines will oversee plans to refurbish three of the four office buildings – a seven-story, 56,000-square-foot building, a four-story, 95,000-square-foot building and a three-story, 68,000-square-foot building – as well as develop the remainder of the site.
Hines has chosen Reid Architecture to redesign the complex, and is in discussion with officers at LB Hillingdon (the local zoning authority) to obtain building permits as well as re-zoning the site to include retail, hotel and possibly a residential component. Hillingdon has also expressed interested in the venture developing a cinema or convention center.
“This project represents a first for the Hines/Hermes venture meeting both our strategic goals,” said Hines Project Director Peter Holden.” Hines has a track record of working with large institutional funding partners in Europe and the USA, as well as delivering quality architecture that is well-received by the communities in which the developments lie.”
The new Heathrow Connect rail service that links Hayes to the Airport and Paddington, and Heathrow Airport’s planned expansion will have a positive impact on the development’s location. Holden noted that flexible leases will be offered with unit sizes from 3,500 square feet to over 250,000 square feet, as well as generous parking allowances of one space per 200 square feet.
Tim Turnbull, commercial director of Hermes said, “This project is another stage in our strategy to build a more opportunistic commercial portfolio to deliver our performance into a recovering occupational market.”
Hines and Hermes were advised by Edwin Hill and Colliers CRE, and Rapleys advised Morrison’s. Knight Frank and Edwin Hill have been selected as joint leasing agents on the project.
Originally known as PosTel, the in-house manager of the Royal Mail (previously the Post Office) and British Telecommunications superannuation pension funds, Hermes was created in 1995 when it became wholly owned by the BT pension scheme. A continuing aim to generate value for the Royal Mail and BT pension schemes remains central to Hermes’ activities; however, its expertise has attracted several other major investors from all areas of the economy. As a leading pension fund investment manager, independent of any broader financial services organization, the firm’s market-leading investment strategy is based on the index/specialist approach and is increasingly being adopted by other large pension funds. Hermes currently invests approximately £52bn (as at 31/03/05) on behalf of over 200 clients including pension funds, insurance companies, government entities and financial institutions, as well as charities and endowments. Some of Hermes’ major clients include the pensions funds of Royal Mail, RailPen, Sainsburys, Unilever, Nippon Life (Japan), CalPERS (USA), PGGM (Netherlands), OTPP (Canada) and 35 UK Local Authorities. Hermes has a 20-year history of innovative long-term fund management.
Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects completed, underway, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 830 properties representing over 330 million square feet of office, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, sports facilities and residential properties, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 64 U.S. cities and 14 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $11.7 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. Access www.hines.com for more information.
|
|
|