The Deal Sheet is a weekly compilation of Greater London and beyond’s biggest leases, sales, financing deals, construction updates and personnel moves. Have news you’d like to submit? Email mark.faithfull@bisnow.com.
BlackRock, through its European value-add real estate series, has announced plans to commit up to £500M to an investment programme delivering data centres across the UK.
The investment programme will be delivered by a newly launched data centre operating platform called Gravity Edge, a joint venture between BlackRock and DGP, a specialist digital infrastructure investor and adviser.
BlackRock has pledged £500M to data centre revamps.
The platform’s strategy will be to acquire, expand and refurbish data centres and build out a portfolio of 5-to-20-megawatt data centres engineered for enterprise customers. These will provide higher-density racks, resilient power, advanced cooling and ultralow-latency connectivity, the companies said.
BlackRock and DGP have launched the Gravity Edge platform with an off-market acquisition of a data centre in west London, which is underpinned by a financial services tenant. The facility has near-term expansion potential to 20 MW, and the initial investment is more than £100M.
CORPORATE
QuadReal Property Group has acquired the Uncle BTR brand in the UK and Europe as well as Realstar’s UK and Ireland residential operating platform, which it said will be renamed.
The transaction consolidates the operating company under QuadReal, which launched its first joint venture with Realstar in 2017 and expanded the relationship through asset acquisitions. In 2021, QuadReal purchased a minority interest in the Realstar UK operating company.
Today, the platform manages nearly 6,000 residential units across London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Dublin, many under the Uncle brand. Ryan Prince will remain as CEO for the next 12 months before moving to the role of nonexecutive chairman.
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Redevco has acquired Roebuck, a specialist logistics investment and asset manager with approximately €1B in assets under management across the UK and continental Europe.
Roebuck has a 15-year track record of delivering strong returns through occupier-led strategies across the logistics supply chain, according to Redevco.
“Logistics naturally fits our investment universe,” Redevco CEO Neil Slater said in a statement. “It complements our existing strengths in retail parks and urban transformation, providing connected opportunities in the supply chain space and aligning with our long-term vision.”
FINANCE
Investec Bank has provided Moorfield Group with a £26M senior debt facility to fund the development and stabilisation of a 204-bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Bristol.
Situated on Freestone Road, within the Temple Meads Quarter regeneration area, the development will deliver a mix of studios and cluster rooms, plus amenities including a gym, communal lounge, games area, study spaces, laundry facilities and courtyards.
Moorfield is targeting an energy performance certificate A rating and BREEAM Excellent accreditation. The scheme will be delivered by Tiger Developments, with Watkin Jones appointed as main contractor.
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Sirius Real Estate, owner and operator of business and industrial parks in Germany and the UK, has issued €105M nominal value of bonds.
This is the second tap of an original €300M bond issuance, following a €60M raise in May 2024, Sirius said, and the proceeds of the new notes will be used toward the company’s pipeline of potential acquisitions in Germany and the UK.
“Having undertaken some €300M of acquisitions this year, including the recently announced £101M acquisition of the Hartlebury Trading Estate, we continue to see attractive opportunities to scale our business in both Germany and the UK,” Sirius Real Estate Chief Financial Officer Chris Bowman said in a statement.
DEVELOPMENT
Stanhope has partnered with Cheyne Capital to take forward Landsec’s stalled London Bankside office scheme, with plans to restart construction in early 2026.
The £450M Row One development, designed by Danish architect BIG at the former Red Lion Court site, has already been cleared by contractor Erith under former owner Landsec, with planning already in place for 250K SF of office and retail space.
The 11-storey tower will deliver 235K SF of flexible workspace and 15K SF of retail and food and beverage space, with 18 riverside terraces, wellness facilities, 724 cycle spaces and 54 showers. The all-electric building is targeting NABERS five-star, WELL Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding ratings, with Stanhope managing delivery.
PLANNING
Fusion Group has secured planning permission for its second purpose-built student accommodation at Brent Cross Town, the 180-acre, £8B mixed-use town development by Related Argent and Barnet Council.
The development, a joint venture with global alternative investment manager Cheyne Capital, will deliver 666 student rooms and is to be designed by architect PRP.
Fusion and Cheyne’s first PBSA development at Brent Cross Town, created through a similar collaboration with Related Argent in 2022, has opened for the start of the 2025-2026 academic year and will be run by Fusion’s relaunched operating platform.
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The London Borough of Southwark has approved plans for London and Regional’s Skipton House development in Elephant and Castle, designed by HTA Design.
Situated next to Elephant and Castle underground station, the scheme will transform the vacant Skipton House commercial site into a mixed-use development and will create a new city block that includes student living, affordable homes, commercial uses and public realm.
Targeting BREEAM Outstanding, HTA has retained the existing basement while making way for four interconnected buildings rising from 21 to 31 storeys. Plans include 243 affordable homes, 17,500 SF of retail, food and beverage, medical services and affordable workspace units, plus 1,434 purpose-built student accommodation units across two towers.