MARK BLINCH/Reuters
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board is boosting its British real estate holdings through a joint venture with a British firm.
CPPIB will buy 50 per cent of a project under construction in Leeds, England, from Hermes Real Estate, which will be the Canadian fund manager's partner in the Wellington Place development.
Both parties will commit equity to the project on a 50-50 basis, for a total gross development value in excess of C$329-million.
Located in the centre of Leeds, the plan for Wellington Place calls for 1.5 million square feet of commercial, retail, leisure and residential space.
About 35,000 square feet of offices have been completed and construction is underway on a further 105,000 square feet.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board invests funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan to pay current benefits.
As of Sept. 30, 2014, the CPP Fund totalled $234.4-billion of which $25.4-billion represented real estate investments.