Macquarie Asset Management is to take a stake in sustainability-focused developer EDGE.
The strategic partnership will see Macquarie, on behalf of one of its managed funds, acquire “a significant minority stake” in the Dutch developer, alongside its founder and CEO Coen van Oostrom.
EDGE, which last year bought the London Stock Exchange’s development site in Shoreditch for more than £150m, specialises in sustainable, tech-enabled office spaces. It has operations in the Netherlands, Germany and the UK, as well as joint ventures in the US. It is currently developing around €5bn (£4.2bn) of new office buildings, including Berlin’s EDGE East Side, Amsterdam’s Pulse, and EDGE London Bridge.
Van Oostrom said: “I am thrilled to announce this partnership with Macquarie, which is a powerful testament to our shared commitment to create sustainable value over the long-term. Leveraging Macquarie’s capabilities, we can build on our 25-year track record and further scale our efforts to help portfolio owners and real-estate managers upgrade their property assets, adopt smart building advancements, and improve their energy efficiency.”
The acquisition is part of Macquarie’s global opportunistic real estate strategy, which is focused on investing in real estate “designed for tomorrow’s world”.
Dana Gibson, co-head of real estate in Europe at Macquarie, said the deal was driven by the “rapidly growing demand for sustainable, wellbeing-focused office spaces from tenants, investors, governments and financiers”. She added that Macquarie would “expand the business in existing and new markets, as well as draw on our investment management experience to support the build-out of EDGE’s office developments”.
The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions.
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