Oaktree Partners with Hines to Acquire Maxis Office Campus in Bracknell, Berkshire

(London) - Hines, the international real estate firm, announced today that along with a subsidiary of a real estate fund managed by Oaktree Capital Management, L.P. (Oaktree) it has acquired the Maxis office campus in Bracknell from administrators Grant Thornton.

Maxis is an eight-acre office campus situated prominently on the Western Road in Bracknell, overlooking Farleymoor Lake. The property is comprised of two five-story, Grade A office buildings totalling 200,000 square feet plus a site for a 79,000-square-foot office development.

The property’s location, which is 40 miles outside of London, provides excellent access to both the M3 and M4 motorways and is a 35-minute drive from Heathrow Airport. The town is home to a number of multi-national companies including Panasonic, Fujitsu, 3M, Hewlett Packard and Dell.

Hines Director Anthony Leonard said, “We are delighted to secure these attractive, highly specified buildings. Given the lack of new development starts in the Western Corridor market over the last five years, we have reached a point where there is a shortage of good quality office buildings with large floor plates. In a market buoyed by improving occupier confidence and increased office market take up, this scheme represents an opportunity for companies to secure flexible and efficient space at a rent which offers exceptional value.”

David Snelgrove, senior vice president at Oaktree who oversees its UK real estate activities, said, “We are pleased to have partnered with Hines to acquire these high-quality office buildings which will appeal to a broad range of occupiers looking for modern yet affordable office space. Oaktree will continue to be active in evaluating opportunities to acquire assets and/or loans collateralized by assets alongside best-of-breed operating partners such as Hines, both here in the UK and across continental Europe."

Oaktree is a leader among global investment managers specializing in alternative investments, with $79.8 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2013. The firm emphasizes an opportunistic, value-oriented and risk-controlled approach to investments in distressed debt, corporate debt (including high-yield debt and senior loans), control investing, convertible securities, real estate and listed equities. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the firm has over 750 employees and offices in 15 cities worldwide. For additional information, please visit Oaktree’s website at http://www.oaktreecapital.com/.

Hines has advised on more than two million square feet of projects acquired, completed or in the pipeline in the UK with a total UK portfolio under management valued at in excess of £1.6 billion. The company’s growing London portfolio of assets under management includes: city offices Cannon Place, Broadgate West and One Bartholomew Lane; Dockland’s One Westferry Circus; and Midtown’s 280 High Holborn and Stonecutter Court.

The firm has a significant portfolio outside the capital including the Brindleyplace Estate and Two Snowhill in Birmingham, and the Landmark development site in Manchester.

Hines is a privately owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The firm’s historical and current portfolio of projects that are underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes 1,283 properties representing more than 516 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments.

With offices in 111 cities in 18 countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $25.2 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

Visit www.hines.com for more information.

 

Maxis