Our first joint venture with real estate private equity funds managed by affiliates of Ares Management Corporation recently saw us acquire the iconic 68 King William Street building, London EC4. This is our first transaction since establishing in 2018 as a value-add and opportunistic real estate development and investment company focused on central London.
History of the building
Formerly home to House of Fraser, the iconic 11-story office and retail building is located above Monument station at the head of London Bridge and often referred to as the “Gateway to the City.” Following the demise of House of Fraser, we recognised the opportunity to deliver a new vision for the building – to re- establish it as an integrated mixed use, office led landmark building – reflecting the latest needs of modern office occupiers and bringing to life the exceptional ground floor ceiling heights and highly attractive 1920’s façade.
High-profile retail & office tenants
Having secured the acquisition and simultaneously locked in high profile tenants including Corbin & King – owners of The Wolseley restaurant – and Pure Gym, ensuring a vibrant food and leisure offering that will not only cater to the new generation of workers in the building but also the wider public. With these two anchor tenants in place, we partnered with Ares Management to provide funding through a joint-venture to complete the acquisition. Post acquisition, a lease with co-working provider Spaces for the entire office component was entered into and full planning has now been achieved.
A unique office and retail opportunity
Speaking on the deal, John Ruane, Partner in the Ares Real Estate Group, comments: “This acquisition of 68 King William Street fits Ares’ long-standing investment strategy of implementing hands-on value creation initiatives for well-located assets in major city centres. By partnering with Black Mountain Partners on this unique office and retail opportunity that includes a very strong tenant base, we believe we can drive improvements that will further add value and establish the building’s long-term success.”
Investors and Developers in London
Apart from securing, leasing and investing in the building, Black Mountain Partners is acting as development manager on the project, which will include a comprehensive modern refurbishment. This project represents the first step in a wider development and investment strategy for the business, in which we have set our sights on the development of mixed-use assets across London to meet the rapidly changing needs of modern office occupiers and their workers in a supply-constrained market.