Proactive Investors - British Land Company PLC (LON:BLND), the property company, has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Royal London Asset Management to develop a science and innovation building in Regent’s Place.
As per the partnership, the two will undertake the development of 1 Triton Square (NYSE:SQ) to turn it into a world-class science and innovation building, fitted with both lab and office space.
1 Triton Square, which is located in the heart of the St Regent’s Place campus, is valued at £385 million by British Land and Royal London.
British Land has been actively seeking to recycle its capital as part of its strategy, while Royal London’s property team is focused on building its existing life sciences and innovation platform across the Golden Triangle.
Simon Carter, British Land’s chief executive said: “We proactively took 1 Triton Square back from Meta to reposition it for science and innovation customers, with the expectation of unlocking significantly higher rents, whilst benefitting from a considerable surrender premium to further improve the economics.
“This transaction is another example of how we drive value through establishing innovative JV partnerships, enabling us to flex our balance sheet, share the risk and crystallise the value created from Meta's surrender premium."
Shares in British Land are up 2% to 376p on Monday, however, they remain more than 5% down year-to-date.