Simmons & Simmons has acted for Rathbone Place Jersey Limited, an SPV owned by WestInvest Gesellschaft Für Investmentfonds mbH and Deka Immobilien Investment GmbH (Deka), on its acquisition of the freehold of Rathbone Square. Facebook is one of the first companies set to rent the sought after space.

The firm has acted for long standing client Deka on a number of significant real estate investments. Most recently these include the acquisition of Savills’ London Head Quarters, the acquisition of One St Peter’s Square in Manchester (the largest regional UK deal in 2016) and the acquisition of St Botolph Building in London for €500m.

Commenting on the transaction, real estate partner Matthew Hooton, said: ‘‘this is just one example of how we deliver across all aspects of the real estate investment landscape. Our European network and our long standing relationship with Deka and their advisors were instrumental in the success of this transaction. Our cross border, multi-disciplinary team ensured we provided succinct and clear guidance to Rathbone Place from end to end.”

The team was led by Matthew Hooton, assisted by partners and associates from across the firm’s practice areas, to include; Karen Clark and Carol Shaw (real estate), Nick Cronkshaw and Mark Watterson (tax), Richard Dyton and Shu Shu Wong (construction), Christian Silk (planning) and Jocelyn Ormond, Tim Was and Rose-Anna Daukes (corporate). The team was also supported by Carolin Glanzel and Stefan Schramm from its Frankfurt office.