USS forward funds 40 Eastbourne Terrace

The Universities Superannuation Scheme has bought Invesco and YardNine’s scheme at 40 Eastbourne Terrace, W2, in a £143m deal. The forward-funding deal will add the duo’s Premier Inn hotel scheme opposite London’s Paddington Station to USS’s £4.5bn property portfolio. Invesco Real Estate and YardNine signed a prelet with Whitbread in January 2021 for a new 369-bedroom hotel and restaurant on a 35-year index-linked lease. The Sheppard Robson-designed hotel will comprise a 275-bedroom Premier Inn, a 94-bedroom Hub by Premier Inn and Whitbread’s Bar + Block Steakhouse restaurant, and will be the first time all three brands will occupy the same building. Invesco Real Estate acquired both 40 and 50 Eastbourne Terrace on behalf of one of its US separate account clients in July 2018. The redevelopment of the two sites, in conjunction with YardNine, will provide 75,000 sq ft of grade-A office accommodation, with 10,000 sq ft of retail space and seven mews houses – all due for completion by the end of 2021. Work on the 369-bedroom hotel is already under way and is due for completion in 2023. Mark Younger, director of YardNine, said: “The progress we have made at 40 and 50 Eastbourne Terrace since acquisition – physically separating the buildings, securing vacant possession, achieving planning consent for both the hotel and an additional floor on 50 Eastbourne Terrace, preletting the hotel to an outstanding hotel operator and securing funding for 40 in just three and a half years – is a testament to the hard work of all involved, particularly during a global pandemic. We are now just weeks away from completing Fifty Paddington, our office development at 50 Eastbourne Terrace, and look forward to seeing our ambitious plans for 40 Eastbourne Terrace starting to take shape.” RX London and Ashursts acted for Invesco Real Estate; JLL and DLA Piper acted for USS. To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Image from YardNine