BCLP advises GPE on £70M acquisition of Soho Square Estate

BCLP has advised Great Portland Estates plc (GPE) on the acquisition of King Sloane Properties Limited (KSPL) from Belgravia & Chelsea Property Services Limited in a transaction worth £70m. The acquisition includes 57,456 sq. ft of mixed-use multi-let buildings with vacant possession expected by March 2024.

As KSPL is a Barbados company, BCLP worked closely alongside local counsel Heather Walker and Ruth Watson of Chancery Chambers.

GPE plan to demolish the existing buildings and deliver 90,000 sq. ft of new Grade A office and prime retail space. The 0.5-acre site is located in the West End, just 100 meters from the new Tottenham Court Road Elizabeth Line station. The redevelopment will provide a best-in-class HQ office building on Soho Square with retail fronting Oxford Street, arranged over basement, lower ground, ground and eight upper floors, with multiple private terraces and a communal roof terrace.

Holly Reynolds, Tax and Corporate Finance Manager at GPE, said, “ The hard work and pragmatic approach of BCLP was essential in us completing the deal in such a short period of time. The team consistently deliver a best-in-class service and has helped GPE unlock a fantastic opportunity for the business. We look forward to working closely together in the future.”

Verity Waington added, “We were delighted to be instructed on this for GPE. The fast paced timetable coupled with the multi-faceted complexities of the site enabled us to demonstrate our strength and depth as a firm and we are very much looking forward to assisting GPE with its future development plans”

The BCLP team was led by Verity Waington, James Banks and Adam Bogdanor, with Andy West leading on tax. They were supported by a large multi-disciplinary BCLP team including Alex Berman (Senior Associate, Real Estate), Grace Liang (Senior Associate, Corporate Real Estate & Funds), Jon Cooper (Senior Associate, Tax), Jeremy Bark (Associate Director, on Health and Safety), Carly Curtis (Senior Associate, Rights of Light) and Katharina Jungclaussen (Associate, Corporate Real Estate & Funds) and Hannah Guest (Associate, Real Estate).

KPMG advised GPE on financial and tax due diligence, led by Tim Sharpen and Arthur Hook.