LaSalle and Trilogy bring De Montfort University to education and innovation campus in East London

London (September 3, 2024) – LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”) and Trilogy Real Estate today announce the arrival of De Montfort University (DMU) to their education and innovation campus in East London: The Amp.

DMU will take 18,000 square feet, taking The Amp’s total building occupancy to 83% as it celebrates the first anniversary of its opening last September.

The move brings DMU students right into the heart of London, where it will offer postgraduate students programmes specialising in sustainable practice, aiming to equip professional managers and aspiring leaders with the skills to manage businesses ethically and lead with social responsibility underpinned by DMU’s commitment to the UN Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).

Located at 41–71 Commercial Road in Aldgate, The Amp is a new campus for education and innovation in the East London district of the Tower Hamlets. Tenants alongside De Monfort University include Nottingham Trent’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies, Access Creative College and London College of Contemporary Arts.

The construction project to transform The AMP was completed in under a year to meet the operational requirements of the education occupiers, who needed an opening date in September 2023. The Amp provides space for education and innovation in a well-connected location, with one foot in central London and the other in the dynamic creative scene in the East of the city. Specialist on-site facilities include recording studios, multi-purpose performance space and an arena for gaming and esports.

The Amp reprises Trilogy’s successful partnership with LaSalle Investment Management, which has previously resulted in the transformation of Republic London from a dated office and disaster recovery space to a thriving education campus with over 15,000 students attending six universities and private education providers. The next phase of Republic London was granted planning consent last year and will also include 715 rooms of purpose-built student accommodation and a modern data centre, adding an infrastructure component to this mixed-use development and creating a new kind of urban campus centred on innovation, higher education and accommodation.

Chris Lewis, Managing Director, LaSalle Value-Add Investments, said: “The addition of De Montfort University to our exciting mixture of universities at The Amp, taking the campus to 83% let within a year of opening, shows the strength of the offer and the demand for education-led innovation campuses in leading European gateway cities.

“The Amp forms part of LaSalle’s broader European value-add strategy, bridging the gap between infrastructure and real estate, with a focus on new economy sectors such as mixed education campuses, urban accommodation, student housing, private medical facilities, distribution and data centres.”

May Molteno, Head of Campus Experience and Social Impact, Trilogy Real Estate, added: “At Trilogy we thrive on delivering exceptional education and innovation campuses which deliver high-quality facilities for colleges, universities and business. It is a testament to what the team has achieved here at The Amp that we are able to attract universities such as De Montfort. We look forward to welcoming students on site to join what is fast becoming a bustling community of learners and future innovators.”

DMU’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Katie Normington, commented: “This expansion marks a pivotal moment for DMU as we reinforce our commitment to sustainability and educational innovation. For the first time, all staff at the new campus will undergo sustainability training, and Carbon Literacy will be integrated into the core curriculum for all students.

“Moving into The Amp allows us to do this in a unique way that give our students a campus experience while empowering them students not only through classroom-based sustainability-focused learning but also through direct engagement with the UN, industry partnerships, internships, networking opportunities, and practical experiences within London’s thriving business community.”

41-71 Commercial Road was originally built in 1971 as the London College of Furniture. The college operated until 1992, when it was taken over by London Metropolitan University, and the building was vacated in 2016 when the university rationalised its estate.

Work on the seven-floor refurbishment began in October 2023, led by main contractor Oktra, Project Manager Quartz Project Services, Architect Hawkins\Brown and Civic Engineers.

The completed building provides flexible, open floorplate space tailored to the needs of universities and colleges, as well as business and industry partners that may look to co-locate with a university to access the talent of the future and provide facilities for research and industry innovation. The Aldgate and Whitechapel area is already well established as a community for higher education, as well as being one of Central London’s youngest and fastest growing neighbourhoods, with a major life sciences cluster planned for the site of the former Royal London Hospital Buildings to the north of The Amp.

Allsop and DLA acted on the deal for Trilogy and LaSalle. DMU has been advised by Metric RE and Mills and Reeve.

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About LaSalle Investment Management | Investing Today. For Tomorrow.

LaSalle Investment Management is one of the world’s leading real estate investment managers. On a global basis, LaSalle manages US$84.8 billion of assets in private and public real estate equity and debt investments as of Q2 2024. LaSalle’s diverse client base includes public and private pension funds, insurance companies, governments, corporations, endowments and private individuals from across the globe. LaSalle sponsors a complete range of investment vehicles, including separate accounts, open- and closed-end funds, public securities and entity-level investments.

For more information, please visit www.lasalle.com, and LinkedIn.

About LaSalle Value-Add Investments

LaSalle Value-Add Investments is part of LaSalle’s growing US $10 billion Debt and Value-Add Strategies platform in Europe and targets higher-return real estate equity investments across Europe, with a focus on conviction investment themes and dislocation opportunities.

About Trilogy Real Estate

Trilogy Real Estate was founded in 2015 by former Resolution Property partner Robert Wolstenholme as an investment and development company specialising in transforming unloved assets to create inspiring and positively impactful mixed-use innovation campuses where the world of work meets education, skills and training.