Real estate

Main areas covered | construction | corporate real estate | development | infrastructure | investment | planning | property litigation | real estate finance

Key clients include | AEG | BAA | Hammerson | Rockpoint | Standard Life

Sector expertise includes | energy and natural resources | infrastructure (including airports and rail) | leisure (including hotels) | retail

  • BAA on the real estate aspects of its £12.1 billion refinancing of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted Airports, the largest ever refinancing of its type, and on the real estate aspects of the disposal of Gatwick Airport
  • City Inn in its High Court and Court of Appeal victories over Ten Trinity Square Limited, a landmark case on enforcement of restrictive covenants and interpretation of contracts, to allow  construction of a major new hotel in the square mile
  • First Quantum on the Marine Facade project in St. Petersburg involving reclamation and development of 470 hectares of land close to Vasilyevsky island. The project involves development of a cruise terminal, residential premises, office facilities and infrastructure
  • London & Continental Railways and Lend Lease as developer, on planning for the £850 million athletes’ village for the 2012 Olympic Games
  • Treasury Holdings on its plans for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station, creating a new landmark destination for London
  • Union Investment Real Estate AG on the setting up of the first OPCI (real estate investment trust) approved and incorporated in France and on all their acquisitions and portfolio management in France, representing a total value of €2.4 billion and 25 buildings

Client case study
The regeneration of the Millennium Dome in London has transformed a white elephant into a success story. Herbert Smith advised on every aspect of the Dome’s transformation into the O2 arena and entertainment district. Our involvement began in 2001 when our client, Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), bought the site from the Government.

We then advised AEG on a US$440 million non-recourse speculative development facility, arranged by Credit Suisse, to finance the Dome’s construction and operation. This was an innovative deal: Credit Suisse syndicated the development facility simultaneously in London, New York and Los Angeles. It’s the first time that the US leveraged land development capital markets have been used to finance a speculative development in Europe.

Work on the site began in January 2005 and was completed in June 2007. The centrepiece of the multi-million-pound development is the 20,000 capacity indoor arena, the highest grossing music arena in the world. It has hosted over 150 world-class music, entertainment and sporting events in its first year of opening. There is also a live music venue – indigO2 – with a capacity of 2,300, the O2 bubble – a state-of-the-art exhibition space, which has recently hosted the acclaimed Tutankhamun exhibition, an 11-screen cinema complex and a vibrant “entertainment district” featuring a variety of bars, restaurants and leisure facilities.