{"id":1004181399,"date":"2017-06-21T03:54:14","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T11:54:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004181399"},"modified":"2022-12-07T17:19:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T01:19:21","slug":"blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/","title":{"rendered":"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Anthony<\/a>

Anthony Myers, Blackstone<\/p><\/div>\n

Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe V will soon claim a prominent position in London\u2019s flexible office market as its own BREP Europe V has entered into an agreement with British entrepreneur Lloyd Dorfman CBE to acquire a majority interest in The Office Group, a top provider of design-led flexible workspace, in a transaction that attaches an enterprise value of \u00a3500 million, or approximately $630 million, to TOG.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a timely investment. \u201cThe traditional workspace is being redefined in gateway cities across the globe, as\u00a0evolving\u00a0business practices increase demand for flexible office space to suit the needs of the discerning modern occupier<\/em>,\u201d Anthony Myers, head of European Real Estate at Blackstone, said in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n

Established in 2003, TOG is not just a leader in its field; it is responsible for having introduced the flexible office space concept to Britain. Presently, the company caters to more than 15,000 members\u2014a diverse group that includes the likes of AOL, Pinterest, British Gas, and of course, start-ups\u2014providing adaptable leases of unique offices and co-working spaces at properties with meeting rooms, lounges and event spaces, the latter of which are also available to non-members. TOG\u2019s portfolio of mostly London buildings stands at 36, but that\u2019s just for now, as the company expects to expand to more than 1.1 million square feet with the opening of new locations within the next 12 months. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Dorfman, chairman of TOG, bought into the company in 2010 and will continue to hold a minority interest in the business, as will TOG co-founders Charlie Green and Olly Olsen, who will remain co-CEOs. The transaction is scheduled to close in June, which will make for a notable follow-up to BREP Europe V\u2019s recent final closing with \u20ac7.8 billion ($9.8 billion) of capital commitments and the new title of the largest ever dedicated European Real Estate fund.<\/p>\n

LONDON TAKES THE LEAD<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The flexible office sub-sector is booming in London, propelled by the gig economy and technology sector, as well as larger corporations embracing co-working and collaborative space as a means of attracting talent, according to research released earlier this year by commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.\u00a0 \u201cLondon\u2019s co-working market\u2014already the largest in the world\u2014is only going to get bigger and expand more rapidly in response to workplace trends,\u201d Elaine Rossall, C&W\u2019s head of London Markets Research, notes in prepared remarks on the report. \u201cThe market will become increasingly competitive as it becomes further established and providers will need a strong brand and points of differentiation, if they are to continue to attract the necessary levels of tenants through the doors.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Blackstone isn\u2019t the only U.S.-based investor<\/a> that\u2019s more than a little keen on London\u2019s flexible office market. Just days ago, The Carlyle Group made its move into the city\u2019s flexible office and co-working sector with three property acquisitions totaling 70,000 square feet, marking the first phase of the global alternative investment manager\u2019s \u00a3150 million ($189 million) investment in the joint venture launch of the Uncommon office brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BREP Europe V is acquiring a majority interest in The Office Group, which is expected to reach more than 1.1 million square feet of flexible workspace within the next 12 months. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":969,"featured_media":1004181420,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21743,21808,16,21783,21742,21747],"tags":[34754,34896,33129,36109],"class_list":["post-1004181399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-deals","category-featured","category-international","category-investment","category-latest","category-office","tag-anthony-myers","tag-cushman-wakefield","tag-the-blackstone-group","tag-the-carlyle-group"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBlackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BREP Europe V is acquiring a majority interest in The Office Group, which is expected to reach more than 1.1 million square feet of flexible workspace within the next 12 months.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-21T11:54:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T01:19:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Barbra Murray\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/\",\"name\":\"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-21T11:54:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-08T01:19:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d1edda962dd3af55af8a203870f9fc32\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":620,\"caption\":\"Anthony Myers, Blackstone\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Commercial Property Executive\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d1edda962dd3af55af8a203870f9fc32\",\"name\":\"Barbra Murray\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a36d5070adb56de135886aa49db0452b319180ff050dbd70770fd33a3e63774?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a36d5070adb56de135886aa49db0452b319180ff050dbd70770fd33a3e63774?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Barbra Murray\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/barbra-murray\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm - Commercial Property Executive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm","og_description":"BREP Europe V is acquiring a majority interest in The Office Group, which is expected to reach more than 1.1 million square feet of flexible workspace within the next 12 months.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/","og_site_name":"Commercial Property Executive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive","article_published_time":"2017-06-21T11:54:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-08T01:19:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":620,"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Barbra Murray","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cpexecutive","twitter_site":"@cpexecutive","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/","name":"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm - Commercial Property Executive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-21T11:54:14+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-08T01:19:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d1edda962dd3af55af8a203870f9fc32"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg","width":800,"height":620,"caption":"Anthony Myers, Blackstone"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/blackstone-to-buy-stake-in-630m-uk-flex-office-firm\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Blackstone to Buy Stake in $630M UK Firm"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/","name":"Commercial Property Executive","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d1edda962dd3af55af8a203870f9fc32","name":"Barbra Murray","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a36d5070adb56de135886aa49db0452b319180ff050dbd70770fd33a3e63774?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9a36d5070adb56de135886aa49db0452b319180ff050dbd70770fd33a3e63774?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Barbra Murray"},"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/barbra-murray\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2017\/06\/Anthony-Myers-Blackstone.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004181399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/969"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004181399"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004181399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004181450,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004181399\/revisions\/1004181450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004181420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004181399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004181399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004181399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}