BPS Purestone Bets £500M on London Office Revival

A New London Office Player with a £500M Ambition

Three property executives—Mahir Vachani, Rishi Khurana and Rohan Jhaveri—have launched BPS Purestone, a London-focused office investment platform that plans to deploy up to £500 million in gross development value by 2029. The venture was unveiled after its first deal: the £32.6 million purchase of 85 Tottenham Court Road from Derwent London, backed by private equity partner Revcap and a senior loan from Cynergy Bank.

The platform merges BPS, which manages capital for several family offices, with Purestone Capital, a pan-European office developer and investor. It launches with £160 million in completed or pipeline projects and draws on a capital base from Hong Kong, Japan, the UAE and the UK. The directors say this diversity lets them move “at a much faster rate than our peers” when deals arise.

The 43,000 sq ft Tottenham Court Road asset will be retrofitted and upgraded—a blueprint for the strategy. Joint agents Cushman & Wakefield and Comptons have been appointed to market the refurbished space. The team intends to replicate a funding model that blends founder equity, family office capital, private equity and bank lending, with BPS Purestone always aiming to co-invest more than 25% of equity in each asset, far above the 1%-10% typical for development managers.

Driving the bet is a view that central London offices have been unfairly discounted by negative sentiment. The directors point to “enduring performance” near transport hubs such as the Elizabeth Line, while warning that many such buildings have been starved of investment needed to meet contemporary leasing standards. They also see growing demand from AI and IT occupiers that cannot find enough upgraded space.

BPS Purestone's Speed Advantage and the London Office Thesis

The Capital Stack Disruption

The claim to speed rests on a capital structure that can be assembled deal-by-deal without the slow decision-making of large institutional funds. BPS Purestone’s stack often combines its own equity, family office money, private equity and bank debt—allowing it to structure transactions and close within tight timeframes. On 85 Tottenham Court Road, for example, the lender Cynergy Bank provided senior debt while Revcap acted as equity partner. The directors stress that over 25% co-investment in each asset aligns interests more tightly than the market norm, potentially attracting capital partners who want a larger share of the upside.

This flexibility also permits asset management strategies that institutional investors may avoid, such as adding storeys, internal reconfigurations, or change-of-use conversions. The ability to underwrite riskier business plans could widen the pool of target properties, particularly older buildings where a straightforward lease renewal would not meet the higher hurdle rates of core investors.

London Office: Undervalued or Overstated?

BPS Purestone’s thesis hinges on a sharp recovery in Zone 1 and 2 offices, which the directors believe have been oversold during a period of negative sentiment towards value-add assets. They note that some suburban business park assets may still have further to fall, but inner London assets with strong transport links and good rental covenants are seen as mispriced. International capital from APAC and the Middle East is reportedly flowing back to London as a safe haven—partly because of price volatility in Hong Kong and geopolitical disruption in the UAE. The directors frame this as a window to enter before a valuation rebound.

Yet the thesis carries execution risk: the recovery depends on continued occupier appetite for premium, retrofitted space and stable financing costs. If interest rates remain elevated or the UK economy slows, even prime London assets could take longer to reprice, compressing the returns BPS Purestone expects.

Occupier Dynamics and the AI Demand

A key pillar of the strategy is the mismatch between supply of modern offices and demand from fast-growing sectors such as artificial intelligence and IT. The directors report agency feedback that larger tenants are crowding out smaller, newer firms in a constrained market, which could drive vacancy in upgraded stock to near zero. By targeting buildings that can be rapidly refurbished into Grade A, hotel-style offices, BPS Purestone aims to capture tenants willing to pay for amenities that landlords have not been providing. This demand signal, if it materialises, would support rental growth and quick lease-up of their projects.

What the BPS Purestone Launch Means for Investors and Occupiers

For real estate investors and fund managers:

• Note the capital stack approach: blending founder, family office, private equity and bank lending on a deal-by-deal basis could become a template for speed in a market where institutional committees move slowly. The 25%+ co-investment hurdle may attract partners seeking deeper alignment.
• Track whether BPS Purestone can deploy capital quickly in coming quarters. A target of £500M GDV by 2029 implies an average of roughly £165M per year—a benchmark for a new platform. Success would validate the view that London offices are undervalued and could pull in more international capital.
• Consider the geographic focus: the directors explicitly rule out business parks and regional towns for now, concentrating on Zone 1 and 2. This suggests a bifurcated recovery where inner London outperforms—a signal for portfolio allocation.

For existing London landlords and developers:

• If BPS Purestone’s demand thesis is correct, assets near the Elizabeth Line and other transport hubs that have not been upgraded may face pricing pressure from new entrants like this platform. The window to sell at current discounts could narrow if more agile buyers emerge.
• Retrofitting older offices to meet modern leasing standards—amenity-rich, Grade A space—is clearly central to the strategy. Landlords who can deliver similar product may be able to capture the same AI and IT occupiers before BPS Purestone does.

For occupiers in the tech and AI sectors:

• Expect competition for prime, refurbished space in central London to intensify. If supply remains constrained, rents for such assets are likely to rise. Engaging with landlords early, or considering pre-let agreements on upcoming retrofits like 85 Tottenham Court Road, could lock in terms before a broader market recovery.