Hines, Oaktree Acquire Maxis Office Park in Suburban London

By Adriana Pop, Associate Editor

International real estate firm Hines has partnered with a subsidiary of Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. to acquire the Maxis office campus in Bracknell, Berkshire from administrators Grant Thornton.

Located about 40 miles outside London, the eight-acre property overlooking Farleymoor Lake includes two five-story, Grade A office buildings totaling 200,000 square feet, as well as a site for a future 79,000-square-foot development.

According to CoStar, Jones Lang LaSalle and Colliers International have been marketing the asset, which sold for around £20 million (or nearly $33 million).

“We are delighted to secure these attractive, highly specified buildings,” Hines Director Anthony Leonard said in a news release.

According to Leonard, the lack of new developments in the Western Corridor market over the last five years has generated a shortage of good quality office buildings with large floor plates.

“In a market buoyed by improving occupier confidence and increased office market take up, this scheme represents an opportunity for companies to secure flexible and efficient space at a rent which offers exceptional value,” he added.

With offices in 111 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $25.2 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

In the U.K., the company manages a portfolio worth more than £1.6 billion ($2.62 billion).

Its London assets include city offices Cannon Place, Broadgate West and One Bartholomew Lane; Dockland’s One Westferry Circus and Midtown’s 280 High Holborn and Stonecutter Court. Outside the capital, Hines manages the Brindleyplace Estate and Two Snowhill in Birmingham, as well as the Landmark development site in Manchester.

“We are pleased to have partnered with Hines to acquire these high-quality office buildings which will appeal to a broad range of occupiers looking for modern yet affordable office space. Oaktree will continue to be active in evaluating opportunities to acquire assets and/or loans collateralized by assets alongside best-of-breed operating partners such as Hines, both here in the U.K. and across continental Europe,” said David Snelgrove, Oaktree’s senior vice president in charge with the company’s U.K. real estate activities.

Based in Los Angeles, Oaktree is a global investment firm with $79.8 billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2013. With offices in 15 cities worldwide, the company currently has more than 750 employees.