Science and technology property investment business Arlington has been acquired by a fund of Brookfield Asset Management, the investor which, last year, bought into the Harwell Campus.

The £714 million acquisition of Arlington, from TPG Real Estate Partners (TREP), involves all 36 Arlington sites, most of which are within the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London.

It brings Brookfield’s total square footage in the Golden Triangle to 1.4 million square feet of operating space.

Brad Hyler, managing partner and head of European real estate for Brookfield, said: “Arlington represents a compelling opportunity to expand our presence in the growing European science, innovation and technology real estate sector.

“We look forward to supporting Arlington by leveraging our global expertise in managing and developing real estate focused on these dynamic industries and delivering high-quality experiences for our tenants and partners.”

Arlington’s properties include Oxford Business Park and Reading International Logistics Park, Hatfield Business Park and Uxbridge Business Park.

Michiel Celis, managing director of TREP, said: “When we acquired Arlington in 2017, we saw an opportunity to invest behind a high-potential property portfolio that had been adversely impacted by challenging market conditions in the wake of the Brexit vote.

“Since then, we have partnered with chief executive James Raven to invest heavily in the platform and execute several non-core disposals and strategic add-on acquisitions to re-position the company as one of the largest integrated innovation real estate platforms in the U.K.

“We’re proud to see Arlington realise its potential and look forward to its continued success under Brookfield’s ownership.”

Mr Raven said: “Over the last four years, we have worked closely with TREP to invest in our assets to provide high-quality amenities and actively position the portfolio to attract tenants in fast-growing sectors such as innovation, technology, and life sciences.

“Our track record of growing occupancy by almost 15 per cent, achieving double-digit rental growth on new leases, and collecting 100 per cent of rents since the onset of Covid is testament to the quality of the platform and the Arlington team.

“We thank TREP and are excited to partner with Brookfield for the next stage of Arlington’s growth.”

Image shows Oxford Works at Oxford Business Park.

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