News | Finance

Tuesday 2nd January 2007

SJ Berwin LLP was delighted to advise new client, The Westfield Group, on the formation of a joint venture with Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) in respect of the Merry Hill shopping centre, near Birmingham.  The total transaction value was £1,048 million.

Westfield has sold a 50% interest in the Merry Hill shopping centre to QIC for £524 million.  Merry Hill is one of the largest shopping centres in the UK. 

SJ Berwin took the leading role in the transaction, advising Westfield on legal matters relating to corporate and finance matters.  The SJ Berwin team included corporate partners Michael Goldberg and Laura O’Neill and finance partner Nathan Briner.  Westfield was also advised on legal matters relating to property by Berwin Leighton Paisner and on tax by Freshfields.

QIC was advised by Lovells in the UK and Freehills in Australia.

For further information please contact:

Michael Goldberg, Corporate Partner on +44 (0)20 7111 2404 or by emailing michael.goldberg@sjberwin.com

Aurelia Spivey, Business Development Manager on +44 (0)20 7111 2060 or by emailing aurelia.spivey@sjberwin.com

Founded in 1982, SJ Berwin is a leading City corporate and commercial law firm with more than 500 lawyers working across its offices in London, Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin.

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. Our client base includes an impressive array of public and private companies, entrepreneurs, of private equity houses, investment banks and financial institutions.

Previous shopping centre transactions on which SJ Berwin LLP have advised include the £1,170 million acquisition of the Meadowhall Centre by British Land and the £480 million joint venture between British Land and Land Securities relating to certain shopping centres in Scotland.

The firm has won a number of recent awards including “Law Firm of the Year" 2006 at the EVCA/Real Deals European Private Equity Awards for the third consecutive year,” European Law Firm of the Year" (fund formation) by subscribers to PrivateEquityOnline and Private Equity International in 2005 and 2006, "Private Equity Law Firm of the Year" 2004 and 2005  at the European Venture Capital journal awards and  "LBO Firm of the Year" 2004 at the Finance and Law Awards in Paris. The Real Estate Team is 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.

SJ Berwin LLP was named ‘UK Firm of the Year’ at the 2005 Legal Week Awards on 30th November. The awards recognised SJ Berwin’s five years of international expansion and its involvement in a series of high quality deals.

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, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Munich and Paris.