Second U.S. Acquisition of 2015 Underpins Firm’s Objective of Forming Sector Focused Partnerships Alongside Seasoned Management Teams;
Industry Veterans Thomas Rizk, Roger Thomas and Howard Sipzner to Lead Workspace Property Trust
Global real estate investment management firm Forum Partners (“Forum”) announced the acquisition of a $245.3 million portfolio of suburban office assets located in Horsham, Pennsylvania, in partnership with Workspace Property Trust (“WPT”).
The newly created Workspace Property Trust is a vertically integrated, full service commercial real estate company specializing in the development, management and operation of office and flex space in the Northeast corridor. Thomas Rizk, who led Cali Realty Corporation through its highly successful IPO in 1994 and subsequent merger with Mack Company and Patriot American Office Group in 1997, will serve as CEO. Industry veterans Roger Thomas, who worked with Rizk on the Cali IPO and remained at Mack-Cali Realty Corporation until 2014, and Howard Sipzner, most recently with Brandywine Realty Trust, have joined WPT alongside Rizk as COO and CFO respectively.
Strategically located off the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the portfolio comprises 2.4 million square feet of office and flex space in the corporate community of Horsham, Pennsylvania; the most heavily concentrated property type is 860,000 square feet of Class-A multi-story office. For Forum, this marks the Firm’s second investment in the U.S. this year, after more than a decade of successful investing in Europe and Asia. In July, Forum acquired a strategic interest in The Dermot Company, a New York City based multifamily owner, operator, and developer.
Russell Platt, CEO of Forum Partners commented: “Tom and I have a 20-year relationship dating back to his days at the helm of Cali. This was a natural fit from both a relationship and strategic standpoint and we are excited to work with Tom, Roger and Howard to grow this platform and create value. In addition to our investment in The Dermot Company earlier this year, Workspace Property Trust is an important pillar that supports our U.S. strategy of partnering with top tier, sector focused sponsors.”
“We are thrilled to complete this transaction and begin building a substantial platform of suburban office real estate assets,” said Thomas Rizk, CEO of Workspace Property Trust. “We intend to use our deep relationships and strong market knowledge to aggressively pursue both marketed and non-marketed transactions as we grow this franchise.”
