CPPIB Sells 50% Stake in London’s Nova Victoria to Singapore-Based REIT

The transaction is expected to yield $549 million when the deal closes later this year, the fund said.

A planned sale of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB)’s half-stake in the Nova Victoria development in central London, a deal that was reportedly delayed because of the coronavirus earlier this year, has been finalized. 

The Canadian pension plan said last week that it will sell its 50% stake in phase one of the $1 billion mixed-use real estate project to Singapore-based Suntec REIT [Real Estate Investment Trust], which is managed under ARA Asset Management. The transaction is expected to yield $549 million when the deal closes later this year, the fund said. 

“The sale of Nova phase one is the culmination of a long-term and highly successful joint venture development project,” said Tom Jackson, managing director and head of UK real estate at CPPIB. The CPPIB made the joint venture with UK-based REIT Landsec. 

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“The project has been a huge success, as a large and high-quality mixed-use development scheme that has significantly revitalized the area around Victoria station. It represents one of the most successful developments in London in recent times,” Jackson added. 

Construction for phase one of the Nova Victoria development finished in 2017. The two office buildings and the block of apartments, near the Victoria subway stations, are essentially fully rented and sold. About five buildings in total are involved in the Nova Victoria project. 

The global investor said it will continue to invest in real estate assets across the UK, such as offices, shopping centers, and student housing. About 11% of the $331 billion portfolio is invested in real estate investments. About $20.7 billion, or 5%, of its total portfolio is invested in the United Kingdom. 

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Ford Foundation Doubles Racial Justice Funding to $330 Million

The investment comes from proceeds from the $1 billion social bond offering earlier this summer.


Proceeds from a summer sale of $1 billion in social bonds are bolstering the Ford Foundation’s commitment to racial justice initiatives in the United States. 

The private endowment has doubled its investment to $330 million, up from a prior commitment of about $150 million, over this year and the next, the fund said last week. 

“Our most urgent priority for this infusion of funds is to meet activists and litigators where they are, and ensure groups on the ground at this historic moment of racial reckoning have the resilience and resources they need to help build a truly equitable future for all,” Ford Foundation President Darren Walker said in a statement. 

In June, the Ford Foundation said money raised from its $1 billion social bond sale will pay out about one-tenth of its total endowment value in 2020 and 2021, which is double the level of grantmaking required by law. The 30-year and 50-year maturities will respectively pay a fixed rate of 2.4% and 2.8% annually. 

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New grants from the foundation will support the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in addition to others. The foundation previously put about $665 million in the past decade toward racial equity initiatives. 

The Ford Foundation, one of the world’s largest private endowments, previously has made strides to address racial inequity. Last month, the foundation said it had partnered with the Connecticut treasurer to form a coalition of 14 firms, which included signatories like Bank of America and BlackRock, to increase diversity within their respective companies and in their communities. 

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