Ares Management Corp. has purchased a London property occupied by Netflix, signalling the alternative investment firm’s persistent confidence in the United Kingdom capital’s office sector.
The Los Angeles-headquartered group purchased the Copyright Building, located at 30 Berners Street in Fitzrovia, London, for approximately £160 million ($216 million), according to Bloomberg.
This acquisition price sits slightly below the amount paid by the previous owner, German fund manager Union Investment, back in 2017.
While the premises are officially leased to Capital Business Services, the entire office space has been sublet to the streaming giant Netflix.
Ares is among a cohort of alternative asset managers currently targeting London real estate that were neglected during the pandemic-driven remote-work era. These firms are now wagering that a shortage of new development projects will drive up both rental rates and occupancy figures. In recent years, Ares has aggressively acquired sites within London’s prestigious West End, including assets at 45 Pall Mall and 101 New Cavendish Street.
“We believe the acquisition of the Copyright Building is consistent with our thesis focused on high-quality, well-located assets benefiting from the powerful rental growth we have seen in many of the Central London sub-markets,” said Wilson Lamont, partner and co-head of European real estate at Ares. He didn’t disclose the purchase price.
Fitzrovia sits on the perimeter of the West End commercial market, an area that has become a magnet for investors lately. Last year, this district recorded £5.3 billion in deals, surpassing the £4.2 billion recorded in the City of London, Bloomberg reported, citing data from broker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
“This is a good time to create more room for manoeuvre for our European real estate funds through strategic sales,” said Jacob Thompson, senior investment manager for the UK and Ireland at Union Investment, according to Bloomberg.
Beyond Ares, firms like Elliott Management Corp. and Strategic Value Partners have also entered this market. Traditionally, this region was the domain of institutional funds and wealthy individuals who accepted modest immediate yields in exchange for reliable, long-term rental revenue.
Netflix withdraws bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets
In a dramatic shift for the entertainment industry, Netflix has withdrawn its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery‘s studio and streaming assets. This sudden exit clears the path for Paramount — owned by Skydance — to potentially absorb its iconic Hollywood competitor.
On Thursday, the Warner board declared that Paramount’s updated proposal to purchase the full company at $31 per share surpassed the terms of the existing agreement with Netflix. While Warner granted Netflix a 4-day window to submit a counteroffer, Netflix responded within 2 hours, declining to increase its valuation. The streaming giant stated that the elevated price point rendered the acquisition “no longer financially attractive.”
“We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands,” Netflix’s co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters said in a joint statement. “But this transaction was always a nice-to-have at the right price, not a must-have at any price.”
A Paramount-led takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery would fundamentally redraw the maps of Hollywood and global media. A key distinction in the bidding war was the scope: while Netflix only sought Warner’s production studio and streaming platform, Paramount intends to buy the entirety of the corporation.
This means that high-profile assets like HBO Max, the “Harry Potter” franchise, and even CNN could eventually be consolidated under the same corporate umbrella as Paramount’s CBS, “Top Gun”, and the Paramount+ streaming service.