Outstanding 12 months for BPE’s Property team
The Commercial Property team at BPE have experienced an extremely busy twelve months, acting for numerous clients on leases, sales and acquisitions of property throughout the UK. The team boasts high end fashion retailers, a top flight rugby team and heavyweight property developers amongst their clients with recent highlights including:
- Superdry’s global flagship relocation to Oxford Street, London
BPE advised on Superdry’s strategic relocation to Oxford Street with Antonia Shield supporting Superdry throughout the process. Both the surrender of their former lease on Regent Street and the acquisition of their new premises were conditional upon a complex set of factors including a pre-let to Japanese retailer Uniqlo, strip out conditions, landlord’s works, fit outs and EMI exit.
- Gloucester Rugby Club’s new training facility
Jo Bewley and Kate Fountain assisted Gloucester Rugby Club in acquiring a location for their widely anticipated new training facility which is now just a short walk from Kingsholm Stadium. As any fan will know, the Club is investing heavily in the development of its academy and this new training facility is a crucial part of this development, boasting a state-of-the-art training pitch, gym, medical facilities, a 500-strong hospitality venue and offices.
- Boultbee Brooks’ acquisition of One Castle Park, Bristol
Doug Armstrong and Matt Jones acted on the £20million purchase and subsequent financing of One Castle Park, Bristol, a newly refurbished multi-let city centre office in Bristol (covering over 79,300 sq ft). The building sits in an area of Bristol which is undergoing significant redevelopment and so the acquisition of the landmark building was a very exciting addition to Boultbee Brooks Real Estate portfolio.
- Post Office Fellowship of Remembrance CIC’s sale of The Dumbleton Hall Hotel
The multi-million pound sale of The Dumbleton Hall Hotel in Evesham to a US entity was handled by Antonia Shield and Matt Jones and was quoted by Colliers as being the “most significant single asset hotel opportunity to become available in the Cotswolds for a generation”.
- Claremont Global Limited’s acquisition of The Centurion Hotel, Somerset
BPE advised on the multi-million pound acquisition of The Centurion Hotel, Somerset from administrators. The deal involved in depth property due diligence, dealing with title issues and negotiating the transfer of the business as a going concern via an asset purchase agreement.
- Park Properties Housing Association acquisition in Surbiton
BPE acted for this new client, a for profit Housing Association, on the acquisition of nine apartments in a new and contemporary building in Surbiton. These were the Affordable Housing allocation within the development and consisted of eight affordable rented units and one shared ownership unit. This was a pivotal acquisition for the client as it was their first acquisition of this kind, and has since led to many more.
Jo Bewley, Head of Commercial Property said, “As we all know, the past few years have been challenging with businesses reevaluating their current operations and longer term strategies. Property needs have changed with some clients consolidating whilst others take on new opportunities. Many of these deals consisted of complex factors and negotiations involving regional, national and even international parties. We are seeing a number of strategic moves and acquisitions, such as Superdry’s relocation, as clients spot opportunities to develop whilst others, such as Gloucester Rugby, are making significant longer term investments to build for the future. Overall the market appears to be buoyant and we’re delighted to be able to support clients new and old to move forward and achieve their strategic objectives.”
These notes have been prepared for the purpose of articles only. They should not be regarded as a substitute for taking legal advice.