CLIENT OBJECTIVES
Oxford University Press, Inc. (OUP) is the U.S. Office of Oxford University Press located in the UK, a non-profit division of Oxford University. OUP began operating in New York in 1896 and occupied space at 200 Madison Avenue by way of a variety of leases from 1968.

In 1989 Oxford University Press purchased a site in Cary, North Carolina comprising 135,000 sf of office/warehouse space on a 22.5 acre site which could provide further expansion to at least 300,000 sf subject to planning permission.

In the mid 1990s OUP instructed Richard Sykes and Patrick Gardner to provide a comprehensive long-term real estate strategy for the USA, taking into account the existence of asbestos, ownership concern, and poor layout at 200 Madison Avenue, as well as the tax advantages of OUP purchasing its own building in New York.

RESULT
OUP purchased the freehold interest in a 150,000 sf condominium at 198 Madison Avenue (part of the former B. Altman store) and undertook total renovation to create a state-of-the-art office complex on the 8th through 13th floors. Funded through New York State tax-exempt bond financing and leasing of surplus space to other not-for-profit organizations, this acquisition has proven to be a major success, not only in terms of space utilization but also as a real estate investment where substantial capital growth has been achieved.