WeWork venture pays £580m for London complex

London

WEWORK Cos and two other companies paid about £580 million (S$1.09 billion) for an office complex in the City of London district, two people with knowledge of the deal said.

WeWork has begun purchasing buildings as it seeks to diversify its global portfolio of short-term co-working spaces, which are mainly leased from landlords on long-term rental agreements. The company will own 10 per cent of Devonshire Square Estate, while TH Real Estate and Denmark's PFA Ejendomme A/S will hold 45 per cent each, one of the people said. Both asked not to be identified because the details are private.

The US business announced on Monday that the deal had been completed, without giving the purchase price. A spokeswoman for the venture declined to comment on the price or share of ownership. Blackstone Group LP, which sold the complex, declined to comment.

WeWork, which is backed by Softbank Group Corp, entered negotiations to buy the complex last year, Bloomberg News reported in October. The company later brought PFA and TH Real Estate, a unit of Nuveen Asset Management LLC, into the deal, the person said.

"The opportunity we have in Devonshire Square underlines the WeWork effect," WeWork senior executive Rich Gomel said in an emailed statement. BLOOMBERG