Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) has purchased a 50% stake in MidCity Place in London from an affiliate of US private equity firm Beacon Capital Partners. Although the acquisition volume was not disclosed, market reports indicate the price was around £142 mln (EUR 157 mln).

OMERS, which made the acquisition on behalf of its Oxford Properties real estate arm, said the deal is in line with its 'European strategy to acquire large- scale high quality assets'. The acquisition allows Oxford to diversify its London portfolio with exposure to the Midtown market, added Paul Brundage, executive vice president and senior managing director Europe at Oxford Properties.

MidCity Place, housing the UK headquarters of shopping cente owner Westfield Group, comprises 28,000 m2 of office space.

GM Real Estate advised Beacon and Farebrother acted for Oxford Properties.

Oxford Properties Group is one of North America's largest commercial real estate investment, development and management firms. It oversees and manages approximately C$16 bn (EUR 11.4 bn) of real estate for itself and on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners including headquarter buildings and development projects such as the Royal Bank Plaza in Toronto.