Eversheds has advised NewRiver Retail Limited ("NewRiver"), the UK REIT specialising in value-creating retail property investment and active asset management, on its latest £85 million equity fundraising. The size of the fundraising, originally targeting £75 million, was increased following significant investor demand.

The fundraising is the second that NewRiver has successfully completed in just over six months after it raised £67 million in July last year. The proceeds will be will be applied for the purposes of the Company’s continuing investment programme.

Slaughter and May advised Countrywide plc, the UK's largest integrated property services group, including the largest estate agency and lettings network, on an agreement to increase the amount of its current finance facilities from £100 million to £150 million. The increased finance facilities will provide finance for the general corporate purposes of the Countrywide group, including the funding of potential acquisitions.

In a landmark judgment handed down today in Co-op Group Limited v Birse Developments Limited and others [2014] EWHC 530 (TCC), Stuart-Smith J clarifies the law on limitation in claims where a main contractor seeks to pass on liabilities to its professional team and its sub-contractors.

Wragge & Co's Banking and Finance team has assisted long-standing client Sanctuary Group in the securing of a £350 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The landmark deal is the first time that the EIB has agreed a direct loan to the social housing sector.

Slaughter and May is advising Costain Group PLC ('Costain'), the UK engineering solutions provider, on its proposed firm placing and placing and open offer of 33,382,068 new ordinary shares to raise gross proceeds of approximately £75.1 million (the 'Capital Raising').

The Capital Raising, which was announced on 27 February 2014, will enable Costain to take greater advantage of opportunities in the UK infrastructure, energy and water markets.

Trowers & Hamlins' Abu Dhabi office has advised long-standing client Control and Applications Group (CAG) on the sale of vMonitor, one of their subsidiaries and a global technology leader for wireless solutions in the oil and gas industry, to Rockwell Automation, Inc., a NYSE-listed company specialising in industrial automation and information.

Abu Dhabi-based vMonitor has operations throughout the Middle East and in the USA, Africa and India.  It offers solutions which monitor and control wellhead and upstream applications, effectively creating the 'digital oilfield'.

Trowers & Hamlins is acting for the founding shareholders on the sale of 38% of the share capital of Target Engineering Construction Co LLC (Target) to Arabtec Holdings PJCS (Arabtec), which was a 60% shareholder of Target.  The transaction is valued at approximately US $73 million.

Having advised on the 2007 sale of 60% of the share capital of Target to Arabtec, Trowers & Hamlins was recently retained by the founding shareholders for this latest transaction.  The transaction increases Arabtec's stake in Target to a 98% shareholding.

OC Brescia advised FAP Investments, owned by the Ferrari family of Brescia, in its sale, together with Arcese Immobiliare and Torre sgr s.p.a., as manager of the Re Brixia fund, of 11 logistics hubs located in northern and central Italy to the US private equity fund, Blackstone.

The transaction, with a value of approximately 180 million euro, was completed through a real estate fund managed by BNP Paribas bank.

The operation forms part of the series of important investments that  Blackstone has recently concluded in Italy.

DWF has advised FirstService Corporation, one of the world's largest property managers, and its subsidiary, Colliers International, on its acquisition of Briant Champion Long (BCL), one of the UK's leading independent retail property specialists.

BCL will be integrated into the operations of Colliers UK and be led by Managing Partner, Mark Phillipson. This deal builds on the successful acquisition of Colliers International in 2012 and further strengthens Colliers' presence in London, in addition to expanding its international reach.

Taylor Wessing has advised Grand City Properties S.A. on its successful issue of EUR 150 million senior, secured five year convertible bonds convertible into new and/or existing ordinary shares in Grand City Properties. Following an accelerated book building process, the nominal coupon for the convertible bonds was fixed at 1.50 % p.a.  J.P. Morgan was acting as Sole Global Coordinator, with Berenberg and Deutsche Bank as Joint Bookrunners, and Anoa Capital S.A.