National legal business DWF advised an investment vehicle affiliated with global real estate investment firm Colony Capital,Inc. (“Colony”) on its £311 million purchase of the Gemini property portfolio.

Real estate partner Lorraine Reader with support from the national team, in particular Geoff Stansfield and Greg Peebles in Scotland, advised Colony on the acquisition. The deal comprises 24 assets, including Renfrew Retail Park in Glasgow, Martineau Place in Birmingham, Regus House, Uxbridge and The Grange in Cheltenham.

The DWF team also advised Colony on its UK acquisition of the £97 million Silverbird portfolio last year.

Lorraine Reader, partner in the real estate investment and funds team at DWF, led the deal and commented: “It was great to support Colony again on another significant acquisition to further build its presence in the UK. DWF’s national team is one of the largest in the UK and has substantial experience in dealing with the acquisition and asset management of property portfolios, and is well placed to advise on complex transactions of this nature and work to tight timescales to deliver for our clients.”

Toby Askin, head of real estate at DWF, added: “There has been a marked uplift in the real estate market over the past 12 months which has seen our team working on a number of major deals across the UK, a great example being the Gemini portfolio. We have continued to invest in our real estate practice to strengthen our expertise and capabilities to support our UK and international clients as the market continues to improve. Our Scottish presence is particularly significant in being able to resource cross border transactions such as this.”