Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Land Securities Group Plc (‘Land Securities’) on its unconditional agreement to purchase the leasehold interest in a 1.9 acre development site at 21 Moorfields in the City of London, for £16.5 million, excluding overage.
Land Securities has acted as asset manager for EY, the administrators for the current leaseholders, Souzel Properties Limited, since the end of 2012. The deal involved agreement of a new development headlease with TfL and the conclusion of compulsory purchase compensation for land required by Crossrail for its development. The deal includes a development participation right for TfL and overage arrangements with the seller.

Following completion, Land Securities has submitted a planning application for two new buildings on the site totalling approximately 500,000 sq ft of predominantly office space with some retail at ground level as well as public realm.

The Freshfields team was led by real estate partners John Fordham and Emma Kendall alongside partners Colin Hargreaves and Alistair Chapman advising on tax and competition aspects respectively.

John Fordham commented, ‘The location of this site, in the heart of the City of London, in between a major underground station and the new Liverpool Street Crossrail station, with the inherent complexities that entails, together with the number of counterparties make this deal a prime example of the complex work with which we get involved. We are delighted to see the project come to such a successful outcome and to have worked again with Land Securities, a long standing client of the firm.’

Land Securities is the UK’s largest listed commercial property company and a member of the FTSE 100. The company owns and manages more than 25 million sq ft of property, from shopping centres to offices, valued in excess of £13 billion.