PIC buys Ruskin Square for £267m

Pension Insurance Corporation has agreed to buy 2 Ruskin Square in Croydon, south London, for £267.6m. The new 344,940 sq ft grade-A office, next to East Croydon station, is being bought from the Schroders Capital UK Real Estate Fund. It will be leased to the Government Property Agency from August 2024. The building is due to reach practical completion in June. It has been specifically designed for occupation by the Home Office, which will accommodate approximately 3,000 civil servants relocating from historical locations around Croydon. Once completed, the building aims to deliver a BREEAM rating of Outstanding, having been uplifted from a previous target of Excellent, along with achieving a 15% reduction in embodied carbon during construction. It is anticipated that the building will operate on a net zero carbon basis. 2 Ruskin Square is PIC’s second purchase of a GPA Hub within the past 12 months, following its purchase at First Street, Manchester in August 2022. The site has been developed by existing funders Schroders Capital, Stanhope as development manager, and Lendlease as contractor. James Agar, head of long income at PIC, said: “Government-let commercial property assets are an important, on-going area of specific focus for PIC, and we are pleased to make this long-term commitment to supporting the greening and modernisation of the UK government’s estate.” Clive Anderson, GPA’s director of capital projects, added: “The 2 Ruskin Square, Croydon, development is part of the Government Hubs programme, which will provide a smaller, better, and greener estate which supports the government’s ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Rob Cosslett, fund manager at Schroders Capital, said: “The sale of 2 Ruskin Square is in line with SCREF’s strategy of divesting out of assets upon completion of the business plan, having successfully prelet the office space and with development of the scheme now largely complete. We have worked closely with our development partner Stanhope to successfully deliver this best-in-class, highly sustainable building on time and under budget, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews Images © AHMM