Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has confirmed it is buying a 50% stake in the first phase of the £1bn Paradise Birmingham scheme, one of the largest development projects in the UK.
The C$264.6bn (£135.9bn) Canadian pension fund will take an equal share in the £150m first phase of the scheme alongside Hermes, which jointly owns the 1.8m sq ft project with Birmingham City Council.
Argent is the scheme’s developer.
The first phase of the project, which started earlier this year, includes demolition of the existing buildings on the site, major infrastructure improvements and public realm around Chamberlain Square, as well as two new office buildings.
The new offices are the 172,000 sq ft One Chamberlain Square, designed by Eric Parry Architects, and the 182,000 sq ft Two Chamberlain Square, designed by Glenn Howells Architects. The first is expected to complete in 2018, with the second due in early 2019.
The overall scheme will include offices, shops, cafés, restaurants and a hotel across 10 buildings.
The CPPIB deal is the second major regional joint venture agreed between the pension fund and Hermes in the past six months, following their £185m deal to develop Wellington Place in Leeds.
They also launched a £350m London joint venture in 2013.
CBRE and GVA are leasing agents on the scheme; CBRE advised Hermes on the joint venture.
Watch aerial footage filmed by Paradise Birmingham of the progress of the scheme and the demolition of the old Central Library.
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