Real Estate Team of the Year

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MISHCON DE REYA - Nick Doffman

Mishcon de Reya had a first-rate year, increasing its real estate revenues by 40% in 2011. Highlights included securing the lead role in representing Capco on its development of Earls Court and Olympia; and a key role representing Delancey and Qatari Diar on the real estate aspects of their £557m purchase and management of the Olympic village.

 

 

For this award, judges will look for a standout example of real estate-related work , including financing, development or construction, or cases and transactions in planning, environment and regeneration areas.

 

Mishcon de Reya had a first-rate year, increasing its real estate revenues by 40% in 2011. Highlights included securing the lead role in representing Capco on its development of Earls Court and Olympia; and a key role representing Delancey and Qatari Diar on the real estate aspects of their £557m purchase and management of the Olympic village.

HIGHLY COMMENDED

DLA PIPER
Howard Bassford

DLA advised Halton Borough Council on its complex £500m Mersey Gateway bridge building project, helping steer the council through the planning process and a public inquiry since receiving instructions in 2008, as well as the comprehensive spending review in late 2010. The client eventually got the nod from chancellor George Osborne to start building the new six-lane toll bridge over the Mersey last year.

FRESHFIELDS BRUCKHAUS DERINGER
Chris Morris; Alexander Watt

The Freshfields team had a tough job on its hands when new client Almacantar decided to purchase the Centre Point tower in London’s West End. Over a six-week period the Freshfi elds team had to pick its way through complex sale and purchase agreements of the listed building, as well as deal with several insolvent tenants and assess the impact of the new Crossrail station.

HERBERT SMITH
Ian Cox

Ian Cox’s team at Herbert Smith acted for The Blackstone Group on its acquisition of the 1.9 million sq ft Chiswick Park. The team secured £300m worth of debt for the deal from Deutsche Bank in one of the fi rst new commercial mortgage-backed securitisations of the past few years.

K&L GATES
Wayne Smith

K&L Gates advised client Henderson Global Investors through the challenging purchase of one of the City of London’s largest development sites, the Leadenhall Triangle. The site was bought out of administration for £188m by the client, including the purchase of distressed assets from administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers after the maturity of debt secured against fi ve City buildings put the real estate assets into insolvency.

SJ BERWIN
Edward Page; Anthony Shatz

Edward Page; Anthony Shatz SJ Berwin’s team is well known for its property debt fi nancing expertise and this year saw those skills put to the test. The team acted on a complex real estate debt workout transaction, advising a joint venture on the purchase of 160,000 sq ft development offi ces at 6 Bevis Marks from Monteverde Bevis Marks, an English company in administration.

TRAVERS SMITH
Julian Bass

Travers Smith’s team advised the Peel Group on a massive real estate disposal, the sale of the 1.5 million sq ft Trafford Centre to Capital Shopping Centres (CSC). The deal was the largest ever single UK property transaction and saw CSC, which owns Lakeside, acquire the Trafford Centre in an all-share deal with Peel Holdings, which is controlled by Northern tycoon John Whittaker.