Shoosmiths has acted for McKay Securities PLC on two key property acquisitions in London and Surrey. A team of real estate, planning and construction lawyers from the firm's real estate group have advised on circa £25 million of acquisitions of The Mille, Brentford and Ashcombe House, Leatherhead.

McKay Securities PLC is a real estate investment trust specialising in office and industrial property in London and the South-East of England. McKay has purchased The Mille from Forthright Property Investments (Brentford) Ltd, clients of Helix Properties, for £19.3 million, and Ashcombe House for £4.4 million.

The Mille totals 96,650 sq ft of office floor space over 11 floors and is located in a prominent position on the south side of the elevated section of the M4, adjacent to Glaxo Smithkline's international headquarters and opposite the University of West London. The building is currently let to 17 tenants generating a rental income of £1million per annum, with rents varying from £13.50 psf to £20.00 psf. Advertising hoardings and roof-top masts take the total income from the building to £1.2 million pa.

Ashcombe House in Leatherhead comprises 17,340 sq ft of office space occupying a prominent position in one of the main commercial centres of the southern M25 office market. The purchase price represents an initial yield of 7.4%.

Shoosmiths' real estate group is one of the largest in the UK. Spread across seven offices and comprising 35 partners and 230 staff in total, it is made up of real estate, construction, planning, property litigation, and environmental specialists. Shoosmiths Partner Alan Corcoran and associate George Panteli led on the work for McKay.