Gloucester Business Park sold by Brookfield asset managers to Singapore real estate company

Advanced Research Clusters (ARC), a science, innovation, and technology real estate platform, has today exchanged on the sale of Gloucester Business Park to Straits Real Estate Pte. Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed Straits Trading Co, allowing the company to focus its portfolio on the growing life sciences and technology sectors.

ARC was launched by global alternative asset manager Brookfield earlier this year – with a specific focus of bringing organisations together in place-based clusters, creating unique ecosystems that stimulate innovation to accelerate commercial growth for its members, incubating solutions to today and tomorrow’s global challenges from climate change to pandemics.

ARC’s consolidated network of clusters now sits at 1.6 million sq. ft and consists of sites including Harwell Campus, Oxford Business Park, Uxbridge Business Park and Manbré Wharf in West London.

The company has ambitious plans for further growth across the UK and Europe and is in active discussions on several potential new sites. It has five million sq. ft of development potential across the UK’s Golden Triangle, three million sq. ft of which is planned for development at the 700-acre Harwell site, while the space available at Oxford will increase by 75 percent, with a 750,000 sq ft expansion introducing new serviced lab space.

ARC’s assets at Gloucester Business Park included more than 521,000 sq. ft of built space and 19 acres of future development land. It was considered a non-core strategic asset following Brookfield’s acquisition of the Arlington portfolio in 2021 and was put up for sale in November last year.

ARC was advised by Eastdil Secured and JLL, Straits were advised by ARA Europe, its retained asset manager.