Our real estate and corporate teams have advised Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) on a significant joint venture which has seen it partner with French state investment firm Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC) for the first time.
CDC has been brought in by RLAM as a 50/50 partner in relation to 1 St John's Lane, Farringdon, London, which Gowling WLG acquired on behalf of Royal London earlier in 2021. The property is a prominent office building providing 89,000 sq ft of high-quality accommodation. It is currently fully let to the charity, Save The Children.
The joint venture combines the UK asset management expertise of RLAM and CDC, two institutional investor heavyweights with vast investment experience. This is also CDC's first significant UK real estate transaction.
The Gowling WLG team that advised RLAM on this project was led by partner Felicity Lindsay, with support from Max Moore (corporate) and partner Lee Nuttall on tax and structuring. Significant contributions were also made by Rita Vartoukian, Kam Dhillon, Tom Rank and Sharon Ayres.
Felicity commented on the deal: "The joint venture between RLAM and CDC looks set to be a prosperous one and we're pleased to have been able to assist them on this first undertaking. With the asset management expertise and strong track record of RLAM as a prominent investor in UK property, together with CDC's focus on the London market, this strengthened partnership is sure to be a positive one for the UK real estate market."
Mark Evans, Head of Property & Commercial Development at RLAM, said: "We are delighted to have commenced a joint venture with CDC, who like RLAM, is seeking to invest further capital into the London market. This joint venture establishes a wider strategic relationship for RLAM, and we look forward to expanding this with further acquisitions in the future."