Macquarie Asset Management, on behalf of one of its managed funds, is to acquire a significant minority stake in Dutch sustainability-focused real estate developer EDGE alongside its founder and chief executive officer Coen van Oostrom.

EDGE is currently developing around €5 billion of new office buildings including Berlin’s EDGE East Side, Amsterdam’s The Pulse, and EDGE London Bridge.

Macquarie Asset Management and EDGE have agreed to a strategic partnership.

EDGE is focused on sustainable, tech-enabled office spaces with operations in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as joint ventures in the United States.

CEO van Oostrom said: “I’m thrilled to announce this partnership with Macquarie, which is a powerful testament to our shared commitment to create sustainable value over the long-term.

“Leveraging Macquarie’s capabilities, we can build on our 25-year track record and further scale our efforts to help portfolio owners and real-estate managers upgrade their property assets, adopt smart building advancements, and improve their energy efficiency.”

Dana Gibson, Co-Head of Real Estate in Europe at Macquarie Asset Management, said: “We are seeing rapidly growing demand for sustainable, wellbeing-focused office spaces from tenants, investors, governments and financiers.

“We are delighted to invest in EDGE, where we look forward to partnering with their specialist management team to expand the business in existing and new markets, as well as draw on our investment management experience to support the build-out of EDGE’s office developments.”

Jelte Bakker, Head of Opportunistic Real Estate at Macquarie Asset Management, said: “Globally we have seen COVID-19 accelerate changing trends in the office sector, with growing demand for sustainable office spaces that are suitable for new economy tenants and their workforces.

“We have been actively pursuing investments in this sector and are delighted to gain exposure to EDGE’s market leading sustainable office developments.”