The firm acted for Mount Street Mortgage Servicing Limited and also for the receivers KPMG

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP (‘Freshfields’) has advised on the sale of the London landmark CityPoint Tower to Brookfield Asset Management (‘Brookfield’) for in excess of £530m. The firm acted for Mount Street Mortgage Servicing Limited (‘Mount Street’) and also for the receivers KPMG.

In 2011, the firm began advising Mount Street on the £535m capital structure, constituting rated CMBS bonds and loan interests, including extensive restructuring and the appointment of the receivers.

As the asset became ‘ready for sale’, the firm advised on the marketing and sales process, navigating the competing interests of existing borrower, lenders, purchaser and incoming debt to find a good result for everybody. On 15 December 2016, the transaction completed at the above price, which is sufficient to cover all liabilities. The team advising on this side of the transaction was led by Jonathan Birks as to the finance aspects and Roger Schofield as to the sale. 

Freshfields also acted for the receivers of CityPoint Tower, KPMG, since its appointment in 2012. This has entailed working alongside Mount Street and the asset manager in order to maximise the property value. This was accomplished by re-gearing key leases, letting vacant space and investing capital expenditures to restore the quality and further enhance the attractiveness of the asset. This Freshfields team on this aspect of the sale was led by Mark Wheelhouse, Margaret Rhodes and Ryan Beckwith.