AXA Investment Managers sell London trophy office building

NorthStar Realty Europe and China Resources Land Limited will acquire London-based 20 Gresham Street, a trophy office building, for 300 million pounds. The seller is AXA Investment Managers.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, May 23, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. (NYSE: NRE) (“NorthStar Realty Europe” or “NRE”), a European-focused predominately office REIT, partnered with China Resources Land Limited (“CRL”), a leading property developer in China listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKSE: 1109) with an approximate $19 billion equity market capitalization, to acquire 20 Gresham Street, a trophy office building located in the City of London, for approximately £300 million from AXA Investment Managers. The acquisition represents CRL’s first real estate investment in Europe.

NorthStar Realty Europe invested £26 million (or approximately $34 million) by way of preferred equity.

Property Highlights:
Constructed in 2008 with 242,807 sq. ft. of highly specified office space over seven floors;
Located in London’s largest business district in close proximity to St. Paul’s Cathedral and Bank of England;
Currently fully leased to blue chip financial services firms including ICBC Standard Bank Plc., TSB Bank Plc., Sacker & Partners LLP, and TLT LLP; and
Average current rents significantly below market rents for similar quality office buildings located in the vicinity of 20 Gresham Street
Mahbod Nia, NorthStar Realty Europe’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“We are delighted to partner with China Resources Land, a leading and highly respected property developer in China with a strong track record of investing in and developing high-quality real estate, on its initial investment in Europe.

NRE’s expertise in the London and broader European real estate market makes us an excellent partner for CRL and we look forward to continuing to develop this important relationship as CRL looks to expand its footprint outside of China.

20 Gresham Street is a highly desirable building with a prime location in London and we feel confident there is significant opportunity to add value and drive strong returns through a number of pro-active initiatives.”

About NorthStar Realty Europe Corp.
NorthStar Realty Europe Corp. is a European focused commercial real estate company with predominately prime office properties within key cities in Germany, the United Kingdom and France, organized as a REIT and managed by an affiliate of Colony NorthStar, Inc. (NYSE: CLNS), a leading global equity REIT with an embedded investment management platform. For more information about NorthStar Realty Europe Corp., please visit www.nrecorp.com.

About China Resources Land Limited
China Resources Land Limited, the flagship subsidiary of China Resources Group, is listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It is a PRC-based real estate company with an integrated business model of “development properties (DP) + investment properties (IP) + X”. Operating in 56 key cities in PRC, CRL has leading market positions in both DP and IP businesses among PRC-based listed companies. For more information about CRL, please visit www.crland.com.hk.