Real estate asset management

Active management of property portfolios drives growth and enhances value of the underlying asset. We support owners, investors, occupiers and funders to ensure that they are best placed to generate value and deal efficiently with their property holdings.

We advise in relation to estates with a range of sizes. Some have one or two assets; others have thousands. The businesses we work with are in all sectors and often have property holdings based in more than one jurisdiction. Our clients include banks, investors and occupiers that operate some of the best known UK brands.

We help businesses to develop their property strategy by advising on issues such as statutory regulation, industry codes of practice and legal developments. We then translate that into process and documentation that is clear and concise and importantly works for the client as a property owner or occupier

In addition to providing legal expertise, we also provide property management tools for estates that assist clients with large property holdings to achieve consistency and efficiency. We are well known for our ability to add value by designing and operating legal and business processes that make life easier for our clients.

• Sole legal advisor for WHSmith’s high street and travel estate, including 1,300+ stores and other sites. We advise on acquisitions, disposals, renewals and all property litigation disputes.
• Acting on the relocation of BBC Wales to its new 165,000 sqft state of the art broadcast and office facilities in central Cardiff, together with the disposal of two existing sites for residential development.
• Advising Well Pharmacy on the acquisition, disposal and estate management of their portfolio of 780+ pharmacy stores. We also advised on the acquisition of its new headquarters, 22,000 sq ft Merchants Warehouse, a Grade II listed building in Manchester’s Castlefield district.
• We are sole legal advisor in England and Wales to Barburrito in relation to their ongoing expansion and restaurant acquisition programme. Recent site acquisitions include both Paddington Station and Holborn Viaduct in London, the St David’s Centre in Cardiff and the Metrocentre.
• Advising on a £m disposal of a former UK headquarters and the construction of a new Grade A 140,000 sq ft global headquarters office complex on the site of a former Imperial cigar factory in Bristol. Also advising on the disposal of the former Ogdens cigarette factory in Liverpool; and disposal (continuing) of 1.2m sq ft John Player cigarette factory in Nottingham, the last such facility in the UK.