Saturday, 28 February 2026
Union Investment has agreed to sell the Copyright Building in London to Ares Real Estate funds, affiliates of Ares Management Corporation. The transaction has been signed and is expected to close in March. Financial details were not disclosed.
Union Investment held the property for nearly ten years within its open-ended public real estate fund, UniImmo: Europa. The asset has been sold at book value. The building provides approximately 10,000 sqm of office and retail space across eight floors and is located in Fitzrovia, within London’s West End office market. It is close to three underground stations and holds a BREEAM Excellent certification.
The sale follows Union Investment’s disposal of Finsbury Circus House to an Australian joint venture, marking its second exit from the London market in the past seven months.
“Institutional and private capital is increasingly looking to enter Central London. This is a good time to create more room for maneuver for our European real estate funds through strategic sales,” said Jacob Thompson, Senior Investment Manager UK & Ireland at Union Investment.
Union Investment acquired the building in 2017 following its completion. The property was let on a long-term lease and has generated stable income during the holding period.
“We acquired the Copyright Building immediately after its completion in 2017 with a long-term lease that has provided our private investors with strong and stable cash flow for almost a decade. Given the shortening remaining term of the leases, the timing of the sale is well chosen. We intend to reinvest the capital available from the recent sales and are actively seeking new attractive investment opportunities in London, specifically for our UniImmo: Deutschland fund,” said Adam Irányi, Head of Investment Management Global at Union Investment.
From the buyer’s side, Ares indicated that the acquisition aligns with its current strategy in the London office market.
“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.
Union Investment was advised on the transaction by Savills and Knight Frank.
