Real Estate
The real estate market is changing as it adapts to the changed economic climate. Clients need lawyers with the technical expertise and practical approach to meet the demands of the modern real estate sector and its business requirements. Our team thrives on complexity and innovation, and its legal expertise and knowledge of the real estate market provides a tangible competitive edge for our clients. We don’t simply deal with the technicalities; we are fully committed to understanding our clients' strategic drivers and the way their business operates.
We deliver an all encompassing service to our clients, including construction, environment, sales and acquisitions, lettings and leasing, outsourcing, planning, real estate finance, real estate litigation and regulatory. However, our partners and associates are not just skilled in real estate matters but have wide experience of indirect real estate acquisitions, real estate investment funds, joint ventures and negotiating corporate style documentation. It is our international reach and use of sophisticated structuring techniques for indirect as well as direct real estate investment that differentiates us from many of our competitors and is responsible for our reputation as a high quality real estate investment practice that is seen as one the market’s leading teams.
You will have lots of hands-on experience from your first day in this group. As a trainee, you will have responsibility for running your own files and be the main contact for clients. You will take instructions on new matters. Your work will range from on-going property portfolio management to real estate transactions which may involve other groups (for instance, tax, corporate, banking, capital markets) or our international offices. You will draft simple contracts, negotiate contentious points with lawyers from other firms, and experience a wide variety of commercial conveyancing work.
Recently we have acted for:
- HSBC (as purchaser) on the acquisition of HSBC's global headquarters office building at 8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf from Spanish property group Metrovacesa for a total consideration of £838m. This was the largest UK real estate transaction of 2008.
- Land Securities and Land Securities Trillium (LST) in connection with the sale of LST to Telereal for £750m. Land Securities is the UK's largest REIT with a commercial property portfolio worth over GBP12bn. Land Securities Trillium is one of the UK's largest property outsourcing companies and has significant contracts with, amongst others, the UK Government and Norwich Union.
- Shard of Glass – advising the developer in connection with the provision of strategic procurement advice in relation to their redevelopment of the area to be known as London Bridge Quarter and the preparation and negotiation of building contracts and ancillary documentation such as guarantees, bonds and collateral warranties in relation to the construction and development of London Bridge Tower 'The Shard', which at 306 metres will on completion be the tallest building in Europe.
You can find more information about the Real Estate practice area on the main Allen & Overy website.