Slaughter and May advised international law firm Withers LLP on its new UK headquarters at 20 Old Bailey, London EC4. Withers LLP has agreed to take 60,000 sq.ft. in the building which is undergoing a major renovation by Blackstone.
Real Estate: John Nevin (partner), Ben Redding (associate)
Trio of deals completed by Addleshaw Goddard for WeWork highlight appetite for flexible co-working space, not only for start-ups and freelancers, but large corporates in the UK's main business centres.
A new wave of flexible and personalised office space is challenging the traditional UK office market according to Iain Hindhaugh a leading real estate specialist at Addleshaw Goddard who has advised WeWork on a trio of deals in June, including what will be the world's largest co-working space.
Shoosmiths has advised easyHotel UK Limited on an agreement for lease to take a 25-year lease of a new build Hotel in Oxford, the first such lease for the hotel chain.
Located less than two miles from the city centre in Oxford's Summertown, the site is to be redeveloped as a mixed-use property. The new 180-room easyHotel will be located on the first and second floors of the property and is expected to be open late 2019.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised Almacantar, property investment and development company and long-standing client, on the pre-letting of over 280,000 sq. ft. to WeWork, the co-working operator, at Two Southbank Place in London. The transaction is the largest pre-let in this real estate market this year and will be the largest property in WeWork’s portfolio, which boasts locations in 44 cities around the world.
Slaughter and May advised Aquis Exchange, an independent pan-European equities trading exchange, on its new lease of offices at 75/77 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3QQ.
Contacts
Real Estate: John Nevin (partner); Helen White (associate).
Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings (“CALC”), Natixis and Crédit Industriel & Commercial (“CIC”) and BOT Lease on nine Japanese operating leases with call option (JOLCO) arranged by Asset Brok’Air in April 2017.
The Paris office of WFW assisted:
Macfarlanes has advised the NEX Group (“NEX”), a financial technology company at the centre of the global markets, on its new letting of a significant part of the London Fruit and Wool Exchange, a prestigious new development adjacent to Spitalfields market, London.
Hill Dickinson has advised Stobart Air on its new agreement to fly two Flybe Embraer E195 jets.
The pair of aircraft will be based at Stobart-owned Southend airport under a “combined commercial arrangement” for up to 20 months.
UK regional carrier Flybe will initially operate the aircraft on behalf of Stobart under a crewed “wet lease” arrangement with Stobart operating the aircraft itself by 1 January 2018.
The aircraft will be operated in Flybe branding under an existing franchise agreement between the two companies.
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) acted for SkyCo International Financial Leasing Co. Ltd. (SkyCo), a rapidly growing Chinese leasing company partly owned by the Guangdong Airport Group, on the inaugural transaction by its Irish aircraft leasing platform. In conjunction with its offshore set-up, the transaction involved the acquisition of a portfolio of aircraft with leases attached to an Indonesian airline.
Having previously acted for the private investor who sold 71 Queen Victoria Street in April of last year for a sum in excess of £200million, Taylor Wessing have subsequently been retained by the buyers, the Singaporean based Pacific Eagle Group, to act in securing the disposal of the last remaining vacant space in the building.