By Local Pensions Partnership Investments Limited (“LPPI”) and London LGPS CIV Limited (“London CIV”) today announce that The London Fund (“the Fund”) has committed £30 million to the Yoo Fund, a real estate fund managed by its general partner which is owned by Yoo Capital Management LLP (“Yoo Capital”) and the Astarte Special Opportunities Platform L.P.
Launched in late 2019 and targeting £400 million of discretionary capital, the Yoo Fund is focused on redeveloping and repositioning existing assets predominantly in the Greater London area.
Its primary focus will be on sectors which Yoo Capital believes to be either undersupplied or mispriced, such as life sciences, healthcare and creative industries.
The Yoo Fund has acquired two seed assets: Shepherd’s Bush Market and Saville Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.
Regenerating a 107-year-old market
Shepherd’s Bush Market is a 450,000 sq. ft. site which the fund plans to bolster by adding affordable housing and office space, including incubator spaces for tech and biotech start-ups and studios for artists and creatives.
The West London regeneration project will protect existing traders who operate in the 107-year-old market, with heads of terms secured with 80% of the current traders so far.
Yoo Capital is building strong relationships with the local community in the surrounding area, including supporting a local primary school, hosting free events for residents and working to ensure community support is embedded in market governance over the long-term.
Securing the future of an historic West End landmark
Saville Theatre is a 110,000 sq. ft. Grade II listed theatre which first opened in the 1930s before later being converted to a cinema.
Located in the heart of London’s West End, Yoo Capital is exploring plans to convert the premises back to a theatre and add additional floors to create a boutique hotel with a suitable joint venture partner.
A consultation and engagement has commenced with local groups to improve connections with the surrounding community.
Yoo Capital is also working with prospective theatre operators to secure discounted tickets for local residents.
The London Fund was established to provide sustainable, long-term and risk-adjusted value to pension scheme investors, while creating a ‘double bottom line’ by generating a social benefit in Greater London through job creation, regeneration and providing a positive environmental impact for Londoners.
The £30m commitment to the Yoo Fund is the second investment for The London Fund, following investment in Delancey and Oxford Residential’s DOOR SLP ‘build to rent’ housing platform to support the development of new quality housing stock for London, with an overall target of 15,000 homes within the next five years.
Richard Tomlinson, Chief Investment Officer, Local Pensions Partnership Investments, said:
“We are excited to be working with an experienced team that has invested more than £11 billion in private equity investments over 25 years and bring strong relationships with London boroughs.
Through this partnership we have the opportunity to secure the long-term future of two London landmarks, demonstrating the Fund’s investment strategy to support large-scale regeneration projects that serve local communities, create jobs and provide affordable housing, alongside wider social and environmental benefits.”
Mike O’Donnell, Chief Executive Officer, London CIV, said:
“As the second investment by The London Fund, I look forward to making further progress in our strategy to deploy capital to long-term and sustainable projects in London which benefit local communities, all while offering good financial returns.”
The London Fund’s portfolio focuses on investments in the City of London Corporation, the 32 London boroughs and their immediate surrounds, in assets such as residential property – specifically build-to-rent – and affordable housing, community regeneration projects and infrastructure, including digital infrastructure and clean energy.
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