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Clearbell and LaSalle Investment Management establish strategic partnership and announce first acquisition

30.11.2020
Press releases

Clearbell Capital LLP today announces the establishment of a strategic partnership with LaSalle Global Partner Solutions (GPS), the indirect real estate investing platform of LaSalle Investment Management.

The partnership has formed a new fund, Clearbell UK Strategic Trust (CST) which will have an initial £125m to deploy. The Clearbell team will co-invest and there is scope to bring in new investors over time. CST will invest in value-add industrial, office and other mixed-use real estate assets across the UK, targeting individual investments of £5-£20 million. Investments will focus on vacant, part-vacant or short income assets in UK-wide established business districts.

Alongside the establishment of the fund, Clearbell and LaSalle also announce their first acquisition in the form of two laboratory and office buildings at Oxford Science Park currently occupied by Oxford Nanopore, the UK leader in DNA sequencing, and Regus. The acquisition demonstrates Clearbell’s support for the burgeoning life sciences sector in the UK.

Rob West, Partner at Clearbell Capital, said:

“We are excited to be partnering with LaSalle GPS, and look forward to repaying the confidence they have shown in Clearbell. We believe the launch is well timed to take advantage of post-pandemic opportunities and our first acquisition is a perfect example of this.”

Joe Bridger, CST Fund Manager and Investment Director at Clearbell Capital, said:

“With Covid-19 highlighting the importance of the life sciences sector, demand for high-quality, specialised office and laboratory space is only expected to increase. Oxford is a renowned global R&D hub, and home to many exciting businesses leading the way in life sciences innovation. We look forward to identifying further exciting opportunities for Clearbell UK Strategic Trust over the next 2 years.”

Catriona Allen, Senior Fund Manager in LaSalle Global Partner Solutions, said:

“We are very pleased to have been able to structure a bespoke value add strategy with Clearbell that caters for our clients’ risk and return requirements, while leveraging off their expertise of investing across the UK.”

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