Canadian investor makes £56m commitment to Paradise
A Canadian pension fund has committed £56m to the next building being developed at Paradise Birmingham, extending its involvement in the city centre transformation.
CPP Investments has become a joint venture partner of One Centenary Way, the third office building in the scheme.
The Paradise redevelopment is being brought forward by a private-public joint venture between Birmingham City Council and the international business of Federated Hermes, which is managing the private sector funding.
CPP Investments and Federated Hermes already came together to provide funding of the first phase of Paradise, which included the development of One and Two Chamberlain Square. They have also partnered on Wellington Place in Leeds andMilton Park Business Park in Oxfordshire.
Chris Taylor, real estate chief executive at Federated Hermes, said: “This deal is a vote of confidence in the city of Birmingham and Paradise specifically.
“We have worked closely with CPP Investments on the delivery of the first phase of the project and are thrilled that they are investing in One Centenary Way, which will further add to Paradise’s credentials as a leading business destination in the UK.”
Arup has already signed up for three floors of One Centenary Way, which is currently having floor-to-ceiling windows added to the steel frame in Centenary Square.
Work began on the building nearly two years ago and it is scheduled to be completed by easter 2023.
Keep an eye out for the first of almost 1,000 glazing panels that have started to be installed at One Centenary Way. This marks a major milestone in bringing this ground breaking building to life in #HeartOfBrum. @WeAreMcAlpine @Glenn_Howells pic.twitter.com/98rwSuQo0p
— Paradise Birmingham (@ParadiseBham) October 27, 2021
Tom Jackson, head of UK real estate at CPP Investments, said: “Our partnership with Federated Hermes, and the existing joint venture investments we have together in Birmingham, Leeds, Oxford and London, deliver strong results to help us support the CPP’s contributors and beneficiaries and form part of our wider commitment to continued investments in the UK.”
Paradise received outline planning permission in 2013 for a 1.8m sq ft development of 10 office buildings, a hotel, and a 49-storey residential tower now known as Octagon.
PwC moved into One Chamberlain Square in January 2020, while DLA Piper, Knights, Mazars and Atkins will occupy number two.
One Centenary Way is a 13-storey development with 286,000 sq ft feet of office space and ground floor retail and is the first building of Paradise’s phase two. Planning applications for Three Chamberlain Square, the hotel, and public realm works were submitted in September.
