Eversheds has completed the disposal of the Press and Broadcast Centres on behalf of the London Legacy Development Corporation, to Here East – a joint venture backed by Delancey.

The disposal was achieved by way of a 200 year lease, following exchange of a conditional agreement for lease a year ago. The former Press and Broadcast Centres will be redeveloped into a new digital quarter for east London, called Here East.

It marks the culmination of three years of work with the London Legacy Development Corporation to secure a long term viable use for one of the most challenging venues on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Eversheds have steered the project through a competitive tender process to a successful completion with plaudits from all parties involved.

Here East will be “a campus that combines business, technology, media, education and data in the pursuit of innovation” and builds on the creative and entrepreneurial heritage of Hackney Wick. Here East will use the connectivity and facilities created for the Press and Broadcast Centre during the 2012 Games to offer the most advanced digital infrastructure in Europe, augmented by the creation of London’s largest data centre.

The Eversheds team was led by Helen Robinson, Principal Associate, working with Partners Steve Manson, Alison Oldfield and Anthony van Hoffen and Principal Associates Tom Douglas and John Grimbley.

Helen Robinson, Principal Associate, commented:

“We are delighted to have achieved this latest development, which further cements the regeneration legacy of the London 2012 Games. Despite mutterings about potential ‘white elephants’ and threatened judicial review proceedings, we worked closely with our long standing client, the London Legacy Development Corporation, to construct, negotiate and close a complex transaction. It has been a pleasure to work with LLDC and the Here East team and I am sure that Here East will be a great success.”