Breakthrough Properties Raises $1 Billion for Life Science Real Estate Investments

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, Nov. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Breakthrough Properties ("Breakthrough"), a joint venture formed in 2019 by Tishman Speyer and Bellco Capital ("Bellco"), has completed the initial closings of the Breakthrough Life Science Property Fund (the "Fund"). The venture has, in aggregate, raised over $1 billion in capital for the Fund and in co-investments. Breakthrough is seeking additional capital, including for the perpetual life real estate investment vehicle that was created as part of the Fund, to build a portfolio of world-class life science research properties.

The Fund seeks to develop and acquire cutting edge lab facilities across leading biotechnology markets around the world.  The Breakthrough Properties team will leverage the market expertise and vast relationship networks of Tishman Speyer, Bellco Capital and the Breakthrough team to quickly scale a best-in-class portfolio and deliver full-service ecosystems to meet the evolving needs of life science innovators.

Supported by the firms' combined resources, the Fund intends to create dynamic environments that foster collaboration among life science industry leaders and strategic research institutions, with the goal of enabling entrepreneurs and researchers to make potentially life-changing discoveries at every stage of development.  These environments are expected to include best-in-class physical infrastructure, with a curated tenancy, collaborative amenities and services and dynamic tenant spaces that meet the needs of early, mid and late stage companies as they work to develop new medical treatments.

The Fund's initial closings come after Breakthrough announced in July that a leading gene editing company, CRISPR Therapeutics, signed a 263,500-square-foot lease agreement for "The 105," a new development located at 105 West First Street in Boston, which is scheduled for completion in early 2022.  The full-building lease transaction was executed just one year after site acquisition in July 2019 and four months after groundbreaking.

Breakthrough's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dan Belldegrun said, "Breakthrough is ideally positioned to support a new era in life sciences and help innovators around the globe pursue life-changing discoveries.  We are excited to have established our primary property investment vehicle with dedicated partners that will enable us to act quickly on future opportunities."

Tishman Speyer President & CEO and Breakthrough Co-Founder Rob Speyer commented, "The demand for modern facilities for life sciences research is enormous. Looking ahead, we intend to be a major provider of best-in-class specialized centers - providing a complete ecosystem of support for real innovators pursuing scientific breakthroughs. Our life sciences property program is off to a strong start with The 105, and other investments in the pipeline."

Bellco Chairman and Breakthrough Co-Chairman Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS, said, "The life science industry has experienced unprecedented productivity, innovation and scientific discovery in recent years as biotechnology and technology have been converging.  The events of 2020 have further fueled the need for scientific innovations.  With Breakthrough, we have created a unique platform for delivering mission critical facilities for these companies and life science entrepreneurs that support their focus on creating new therapies that change how we fight disease and improve lives for generations to come."

About Breakthrough Properties (btprop.com)
Breakthrough Properties is a life science real estate development company that leverages cross-sector collaboration to deliver environments that foster innovation and scientific breakthroughs. Breakthrough combines Tishman Speyer's decades of global real estate development experience with Bellco Capital's industry-making biotechnology entrepreneurship to reimagine environments where companies can create life-changing therapies for patients.  At Breakthrough, we seek to be a home for scientific discovery and innovation because we understand what you do, how you do it and why you do it.

About Tishman Speyer (tishmanspeyer.com)
Tishman Speyer is a leading owner, developer, operator and investment manager of first-class real estate in 27 key markets across the United States, Europe, Asia and Latin America. We develop, build and manage premier office, residential and retail spaces for industry-leading tenants, as well as state-of-the-art life science centers through our Breakthrough Properties venture. With global vision, on-the-ground expertise and a personalized approach, we are unparalleled in our ability to foster innovation, quickly adapt to global and local trends and proactively anticipate our customers' evolving needs. By focusing on health and wellness, enlightened placemaking and customer-focused initiatives such as our tenant amenities platform, ZO., and our flexible space and co-working brand, Studio, we tend not just to our physical buildings, but to the people who inhabit them on a daily basis. Since our inception in 1978, Tishman Speyer has acquired, developed, and operated 424 properties, totaling 184 million square feet, with a combined value of approximately $97 billion (U.S.). Our current portfolio includes such iconic assets as Rockefeller Center in New York City, The Springs in Shanghai, TaunusTurm in Frankfurt and the Mission Rock neighborhood currently being realized in San Francisco.

About Bellco Capital (bellcocapital.com)
Bellco Capital is a direct investment firm founded in 2003 by Rebecka Belldegrun, M.D. and Arie Belldegrun, M.D., FACS.  Bellco focuses on deploying capital to create and support companies with bold ambitions of exponential transformation in life sciences as well as growth in real estate, consumer products, media and other sectors. Bellco's more recent deep and integrated relationships with the life sciences incubator Two River Group, and the venture capital firm Vida Ventures, provide even greater reach and visibility to passionate leaders and innovative technologies across life sciences. Together with its partners, Bellco has a longstanding track record of founding and investing in companies that change the paradigm of care for patients.  Bellco's most notable impact has been in leading the cell therapy field with the founding of Kite Pharma, acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2017 for $11.9 billion, and Allogene Therapeutics, the second largest biotechnology IPO of 2018.  Bellco's other prominent investments include Agensys, ByHeart, Cell Design Labs, Cougar Biotechnology, First Media, Hubble, Kronos Bio, Neogene and UroGen Pharma. For more information, please visit www.bellcocapital.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws.  Any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.  Furthermore, Breakthrough Properties disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.

Non-U.S. Persons

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SOURCE Breakthrough Properties