News | Real Estate

Wednesday 12th March 2008

European law firm SJ Berwin LLP’s real estate department has advised Strategic Partners UK Fund III a closed fund managed by CBRE Investors on the £16 million acquisition of Lynchwood House, Peterborough, one of the regional headquarters of Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance.  The acquisition was simultaneous with a lease back to Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance at an annual rent just less than £1 million.

SJ Berwin have previously advised CBRE Investors in respect of Strategic Partners UK Funds I & II, which had a combined value of just less that £1 billion during the period from the initial creation of Strategic Partners in 2003, with the latest transaction marking the first instruction for SJ  Berwin LLP in relation to Fund III. 

The SJ Berwin team was led by senior associate Darren Rogers, assisted by associates Jo Taylor and Nicola Winslow.  Partner Mark Bryan at Maples Teesdale, assisted by Louise Jones, advised Royal & Sun Alliance.

For further information please contact:

Darren Rogers on +44 (0) 20 7111 2794, email darren.rogers@sjberwin.com  or Jodie Yates on +44 (0) 20 7111 5907, email jodie.yates@sjberwin.com   

• On 1 June 2005 SJ Berwin LLP, an English limited liability partnership, took over the business of the SJ Berwin general partnership.  SJ Berwin LLP or an affiliated undertaking has an office in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris and Turin.
  
  
• SJ Berwin LLP was named ‘UK Firm of the Year’ at the Global Chambers Awards 2007 and Private Equity Team of the Year at the Financial News Legal Awards 2007. 
  
  
• SJ Berwin's Real Estate Division totals 150 staff  in London of which 23 are partners (3 of which are 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 Real Estate team of the Year in this year’s British Legal awards.
  
  
• Revenue from Real Estate represents approximately 21% of the firm's total revenue in London.