News | Real Estate

Monday 8th May 2006

Corporate and commercial law firm SJ Berwin LLP's real estate department has advised developer Londonewcastle on the purchase of a 0.7 acre site near the Tate Modern in Southwark from a London based private investor.

The developer is drawing up plans for its largest mixed-use scheme yet: a 150,000 sq ft building with offices, retail and restaurant and flats around a courtyard. The finished scheme will sit on top of an underground car park and is expected to have a developed value of around £50 million.  The site already has planning consent for 130,000 sq ft of offices, but Londonewcastle intends to submit a fresh application later this year.

Londonewcastle was advised by SJ Berwin real estate partner Nick Minkoff, assisted by associate Emma Dewar and planning and environment associate Simon Robinson.

Robert Soning, Director of Londonewcastle said, "This development is in the trendy part of Southwark and is in line with Londonewcastle's strategy of developing unusual residential schemes close to prime central London areas."

Ian Lipman of Mishcon de Reya advised the vendor.

• 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 and Paris. SJ Berwin LLP was named 'UK Firm of the Year' at the 2005 Legal Week Awards on 30 November.  The award recognised SJ Berwin’s five years of international expansion and its involvement in a series of high quality deals.
  
• SJ Berwin's Real Estate Division totals 118 staff of which 23 are partners (3 of which are tax partners), and 50 associates, encompassing the disciplines of Commercial Real Estate, Construction, Planning & Environment, Property Litigation, Real Estate Funds and Tax.  There is an increasing emphasis on cross firm activity with related areas of Banking and Corporate.  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 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.
  
• Revenue from Real Estate represents approximately 23% of the firm's total revenue.