A Cain Hoy-led consortium is under offer to secure a joint venture development agreement for the £750m Stage scheme in Shoreditch, EC2.
The Guggenheim family-backed private equity giant, led in Europe by former Heron deputy chief executive Jonathan Goldstein, has agreed terms to acquire a long leasehold interest in the 2.3-acre site from the Bard family.
Cain Hoy is working with residential developer Galliard Homes with which it has a £225m joint venture.
The Stage scheme includes a 40-storey residential tower and 257,252 sq ft of offices.
The site, to the north of Brookfield’s Principal Place, EC2, is home to the historic remains of Shakespeare’s Curtain theatre.
The well preserved Elizabethan theatre, which first staged Romeo and Juliet, will be the centrepiece of the scheme, with a 14,000 sq ft exhibition centre, and a 6,735 sq ft two-storey pavilion with roof terrace overlooking the site.
View images and full scheme details on the Stage website >>
Plough Yard developments, the Bard family-controlled special purpose vehicle which owns the site, will grant a new 250-year lease for the whole site while retaining the freehold.
The consortium will pay rental gearing on the two main commercial buildings in the scheme.
Cain Hoy saw off strong competition for the site from blue-chip developers including Tishman Speyer, Hines and British Land.
Cain Hoy has been targeting residential development opportunities on the fringes of zone one where it sees strong and sustainable demand for housing.
The first project funded through its jv with Galliard was 2 Millharbour, E14, a 900-flat scheme it is developing in joint venture with Frogmore.
The 50:50 joint venture is aiming to take on projects with a total gross development value of £1bn.
Galliard’s share of the £225m vehicle was financed by Deutsche Bank, which underwrote the deal with a three-year corporate facility to Galliard Holdings.
In a statement announcing the jv in November last year, Goldstein said Galliard’s expertise in delivering regeneration projects made it an attractive partner through which Guggenheim could deploy its financial firepower in London.
Cain Hoy is also working with developer Sager on a 4.5 acre mixed-use regeneration scheme called Islington Square, N1.
The 500,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme will occupy the former Mail Centre site fronting Upper Street.
Cain Hoy made headlines last September when it considered an approach for Tottenham Hotspur FC ahead of its planned stadium redevelopment.
The investment group, which is backed by Guggenheim partners parent Guggenheim Capital, is named for the thoroughbred racing stable set up by US tycoon Harry Guggenheim in 1929.
CBRE and Allsop are advising Plough Yard on the jv agreement.
