Sunset Waltham Cross Studios will target a
potential 2025 opening
21-stage complex will be a global hub for UK
and international film and television productions
Project expected to create over 4,800 jobs and
contribute £300 million annually to the local Hertfordshire
economy
Blackstone (NYSE: BX) and Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (NYSE:
HPP), a unique provider of end-to-end real estate solutions for
tech and media tenants, today announced they have received a
positive resolution at planning committee to develop Sunset Waltham
Cross Studios, a major new studio facility for feature films,
high-end television and digital production in Broxbourne,
Hertfordshire.
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Sunset Waltham Cross Studios, located
just north of central London, will be a global hub for film and
television productions (image credit: Leonard Design
Architects)
Preliminary site work is expected to start in the second half of
2022 with construction to commence in 2023 and the potential
delivery of the project by year-end 2025. The project will
significantly benefit the community, and anticipates creating over
4,800 jobs in Broxbourne and the surrounding area and contributing
more than £300 million annually to the local economy.
Further expanding their partnership, funds managed by Blackstone
and Hudson Pacific will transform a 91-acre site into a
state-of-the-art, 1.2 million square-foot studio campus, creating
one of the UK’s largest film and television production locations.
The project will include 21 sound stages totalling 470,000 square
feet, 420,000 square feet of workshop and mill space, and 250,000
square feet of stage-adjacent production office and support space
as well as abundant amenity, basecamp and backlot spaces.
James Seppala, Head of Blackstone Real Estate Europe, said: “We
would like to thank Broxbourne Council for its valued input and we
are excited that our expanded partnership with Hudson Pacific will
deliver a world-class studio facility to be used by homegrown and
international talent. Sunset Waltham Cross Studios will be a
world-renowned hub for content creation and creativity that will
help assert the UK’s role as a premier destination for creating
entertainment and is yet another demonstration of our commitment to
investing in the UK.”
Set to become one of the ‘greenest’ studios in the UK, Sunset
Waltham Cross will target LEED Gold certification and a BREEAM
Excellent rating which would put the development in the top 10% of
buildings in the UK in terms of its sustainability performance,
with energy efficiency and biodiversity central to its design and
development. Moreover, once operational, extensive sustainability
initiatives will lower the carbon impact of every production filmed
at the studio. Sunset Waltham Cross will also feature more green
and open space than any other major studio in the UK.
Stages will have up to 50-foot clear heights with varying sizes
to accommodate nearly any type of production. Designs leverage
Hudson Pacific’s extensive expertise redeveloping and operating
studios, including maximising the site’s efficiency and security
and integrating the latest technology. Located just 17 miles north
of central London, adjacent to both the M25 and A10 highways, and
close to Overground and National Rail stations, Sunset Waltham
Cross is easily accessible from anywhere in Greater London.
Sunset Waltham Cross is Blackstone and Hudson Pacific’s first
expansion outside of the US for its jointly owned Sunset Studios,
which now comprises five facilities and over 60 stages. For more
than a century, Sunset Studios facilities have hosted legendary
productions such as When Harry Met Sally and La La Land as well as
numerous other Academy Award winning films.
Victor Coleman, Chairman and CEO at Hudson Pacific, said: “We
are thrilled that in less than one year since we announced this
exciting expansion of our relationship with Blackstone, we are
ready to begin site work with the ability to start construction
next year. With demand for state-of-the-art studio space rising
globally, this 21-stage project will bring much needed supply to
one of the fastest growing media markets in the world, leveraging
our development and operational expertise along the way.
Importantly, the project will result in the creation of more than
4,800 jobs in the local community and we are taking a highly
sustainable approach which is central to Hudson Pacific’s and
Blackstone’s core values.”
About Blackstone
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative asset manager. We
seek to create positive economic impact and long-term value for our
investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which
we work. We do this by using extraordinary people and flexible
capital to help companies solve problems. Our $915 billion in
assets under management include investment vehicles focused on
private equity, real estate, public debt and equity,
infrastructure, life sciences, growth equity, opportunistic,
non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all
on a global basis. Further information is available at
www.blackstone.com. Follow @blackstone on LinkedIn, Twitter, and
Instagram.
About Hudson Pacific Properties
Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP) is a real estate
investment trust serving dynamic tech and media tenants in global
epicenters for these synergistic, converging and secular growth
industries. Hudson Pacific’s unique and high-barrier tech and media
focus leverages a full-service, end-to-end value creation platform
forged through deep strategic relationships and niche expertise
across identifying, acquiring, transforming and developing
properties into world-class amenitized, collaborative and
sustainable office and studio space. For more information visit
HudsonPacificProperties.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking
statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future
plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar
expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In
some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use
of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,”
“expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these
words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions
of or indicate future events or trends and that do not relate
solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and
contingencies, many of which are beyond Hudson Pacific’s control,
which may cause actual results to differ significantly from those
expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking
statements reflect Hudson Pacific’s good faith beliefs, assumptions
and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future
performance. Furthermore, Hudson Pacific disclaims any obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to
reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new
information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a
further discussion of these and other factors that could cause
Hudson Pacific’s future results to differ materially from any
forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors”
in Hudson Pacific’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, and other risks
described in documents subsequently filed by Hudson Pacific from
time to time with the SEC.
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Hudson Pacific Properties Investor
Contact: Laura Campbell lcampbell@hudsonppi.com Tel: 310-622-1702
UK Media Contact: Jamie Robertson jamie.robertson@fleishman.com
Tel: 07966 221 823 US Media Contact: Laura Murray
lmurray@hudsonppi.com Tel: 310-622-1781
Blackstone UK Media Contacts: Niamh
Fogarty Tel: 07955 024 049 Josie Betts Tel: 07946 813 843
blackstone@hanburystrategy.com
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