News & Events | News

Friday 25th July 2008

European law firm SJ Berwin LLP’s corporate department and Cripps Harries Hall LLP’s real estate team jointly advised British Land on its sale of Peacocks Centre Limited, the owner of The Peacocks Shopping Centre in Woking, to Moyallen Holdings Limited for £116 million. SJ Berwin dealt with the corporate aspects of the sale and Cripps Harries Hall advised on the property matters.

The Peacocks Centre was opened in 1992 and is the prime retail destination in Woking with a six screen cinema complex, onsite parking and substantial food court.  Debenhams anchor the scheme with a further 77 units including Marks and Spencer. 

SJ Berwin advised British Land during its joint venture acquisition of The Peacocks in 1998 and again in 2001 during British Land’s acquisition of its former joint venture partner’s interest. Cripps Harries Hall have advised British Land since 2003 on the day to day management of The Peacocks Centre.  Consultant Paul Clark has been connected with The Peacocks since 1998.

The SJ Berwin team was led by corporate partner Delphine Currie, assisted by associates Arthur McGivern and Katie Bannister, and tax partner Heather Corben, assisted by associate Anna Downey. Partner Stephen Hedley and consultant Paul Clark led the Cripps Harries Hall real estate team.

SJ Berwin has advised longstanding client British Land on a long string of transactions dating back to the establishment of the practice. SJ Berwin recently advised British Land on its £400 million sale of the Willis Building, the largest property transaction in the City since the onset of the credit crunch. In the first quarter of 2008, SJ Berwin advised British Land on the sale of two Debenham’s department stores in Luton and Winchester and on the sale of Plantation Place South. SJ Berwin also advised on the sale of 1 Plantation Place and more recently the formation of a new 50:50 £1.2 billion joint venture with J Sainsbury plc.

Cripps Harries Hall has acted for British Land on a number of regional shopping centres including the sale last year of The Observatory and Queensmere Centres in Slough for £200 million. It currently acts for British Land on the day to day management of the Eastgate Shopping Centre in Basildon and in relation to St Stephen’s Shopping Centre in Hull.

For further information relating to SJ Berwin, please contact:

Delphine Currie, Partner on 0207 111 2514 or by emailing delphine.currie@sjberwin.com

Sara Mahdavian, Business Development Executive on 020 7111 5074 or by emailing sara.mahdavian@sjberwin.com

To view other press releases click here. 

For further information relating to Cripps Harries Hall LLP, please contact:

Stephen Hedley, Partner on 01892 506200, email stephen.hedley@crippslaw.com

Paul Clark, Consultant on 01892 506059, email paul.clark@crippslaw.com

Notes To Editors

SJ Berwin LLP

• With more than 200 corporate finance lawyers, the depth and breadth of expertise of our pan-European Corporate Finance Department is considerable.  We offer the complete range of corporate finance services, which extends to all aspects of domestic and cross-border M&A and buy-outs, private equity, equity capital markets, financial services and tax.
• SJ Berwin was created and thrives as a leading-edge legal services business, focusing on the European and international market place. Our clients are sophisticated buyers of legal services, principally entrepreneurial companies and financial institutions, whom we advise on a comprehensive range of services including Corporate, Commercial, Real Estate, Finance, Reconstruction & Insolvency, Financial Services, Litigation, Employment & Pensions, EU & Competition and Tax.
• The corporate  team has won a number of recent awards including:
• "European Law Firm of the Year (Fund Formation)" 2007 for the sixth year running at the Private Equity International Awards,
• “Corporate Team of the Year - Mid Market" at The Lawyer Awards 2007,
• “UK Firm of the Year” at the Global Chambers Awards 2007,
• “Private Equity Team of the Year” Financial News Legal Awards 2007,
• “Fund Formation Team of the Year” 2006 at the Financial News Awards for Excellence in Private Equity Advisory Services,
• “European Law Firm of the Year" 2004 -  2006 at the EVCA/Real Deals European Private Equity Awards,
• ”European Law Firm of the Year" (fund formation) 2001 - 2007 by subscribers to PrivateEquityOnline and Private Equity International,
• "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year" 2004 -  2007 at the European Venture Capital journal awards 2004,
• "LBO Firm of the Year" 2004 at the Finance and Law Awards in Paris  
• SJ Berwin's Real Estate Division totals 150 staff in London of which 28 are partners (3 of which are dedicated property tax partners), and over 70 associates, encompassing the  disciplines of Commercial Real Estate, Construction, Planning & Environment, Property Litigation, Real Estate Funds and Tax.  In addition there are 3 partners specialising in real estate in our Continental European offices.  There is an increasing emphasis on cross departmental activity with related areas of Banking and Corporate and also cross border / pan European real estate work, with our European offices.  The division acts for blue chip clients including British Land, Royal Bank of Scotland, the Hilton Group, Brixton plc, AXA, The Crown Estate, Marks & Spencer and Gazeley. 
• The Real Estate Team was Legal Business Real Estate Team of the Year 2005.  It was also named "Real Estate Team of the Year" in the Lawyer Magazine Awards 2004, following its advice on the RBS/Canary Wharf transaction, the highest-value property investment transaction in the UK in 2004.  It was shortlisted Real Estate team of the Year in this year’s British Legal awards.
• On 1 June 2005, SJ Berwin became SJ Berwin LLP, a limited liability partnership.  www.sjberwin.com.  SJ Berwin LLP or an affiliated undertaking has an office in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin.

Cripps Harries Hall LLP

• Cripps Harries Hall is a leading law firm based in the South East with 40 partners and  300 staff.
• Core areas of expertise include real estate, planning and environmental, development, construction, corporate and commercial, employment, all forms of dispute resolution and private client services.
• Cripps Harries Hall’s real estate team has 13 partners and over 40 other fee earners including one of the largest property dispute resolution teams in the country, with 3 partners and 11 other fee earners.
• Cripps Harries Hall’s real estate team is ranked as leaders in Real Estate and Real Estate Litigation (The South) by Chambers and as leaders in Commercial Property and Property Litigation (Kent, Surrey and Sussex) by Legal 500. 
• As well as British Land, the real estate team also acts for PRUPIM as one of two law firms working with Lovells as part of Mexican Wave, Land Securities, Union Railways and Liberty Property Trust UK.