White & Case advises on €1.7bn PPP deal
White & Case has advised the Slovak Republic on a €1.7bn public private partnership (PPP) deal to develop 59km of new road networks.
The deal saw the firm advise the Slovak Republic on the design, construction, finance, operation and maintenance of the country’s D4 highway and R7 Expressway.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and PRK Partners advised Zero Bypass Limited on its successful bid for the project. Zero Bypass is a consortium comprised of Cintra Infraestructureas Internacional SLU, Macquarie Corporate Holdings and Porr AG.
The project focuses on the construction of the southeastern section of Bratislava’s ring road and part of the southern expressway network that links eastern and western Slovakia. The agreement also covers the maintenance of the roads for the next 30 years.
London-based infrastructure partner Caroline Miller Smith co-led White & Case’s team along with Bratislava corporate partner Marek Staroň. The team also included associates Peter Hodál, Kristína Klenová, Deji Adegoke and Helen Steininger.
Freshfields’ team was led by energy and infrastructure head Nick Bliss. Following Bliss’ retirement partner Alex Carver led the team and was assisted by associates Ronen Lazarovitch, Chris Wallace, Shanine Felix and James Chapman.
Partner Miriam Galandová led PRK Partners’ team.
Staroň said: “The D4 Highway and R7 Expressway is the one of the largest road infrastructure development projects in the history of the Slovak Republic.
“White & Case established the qualification and selection criteria, drafted the procurement documentation and concession agreement, structured and led negotiations with the bidders, assisted with the relevant financing documentation and provided advice on various legal aspects of the land acquisition process, construction and zoning permits, environmental and other regulatory issues.”
The public procurement process was conducted over 18 months and received bids from nine major construction and financial consortia. Of the nine bids four consortia were originally shortlisted.
Baker & McKenzie & DLA Piper act on Green Park sale
Baker & McKenzie advised Mapletree Investments on the £550m acquisition of Green Park in Reading from Oxford Properties.
The 190-acre site comprises 1.4m sq ft of office space across 19 buildings. The business park currently has room for 6,500 people to work within and has planning consent for a further 850,000sq ft to be developed.
London real estate partner Stephen Turner led Baker & McKenzie’s team along with corporate partner James Burdett and tax partner James Smith.
Speaking about the deal Turner said: “This is Mapletree’s largest single acquisition in the UK to date and we’re very pleased to have helped them in this marquee transaction. The asset provides both an income steam and an attractive mix of future development opportunities. We fielded a multi-disciplinary team to meet the demands of the transaction and we met with the client both in London and Singapore.”
Dechert and HSF advise on Hines’ first student housing deal
Dechert and Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) have advised real estate investment giant Hines on its first move into the student housing market.
Hines acquired a £150m portfolio consisting of six developments sites across Aberdeen, Brighton, Cambridge, Kingston and Oxford. The development will provide space for 1,100 beds and planning consent has already been granted for four of the sites. Consent for the remaining two sites is expected to be granted later this year.
The portfolio was acquired from McLaren Property, which was advised by Taylor Wessing. Real estate partner Paul Leamy and real estate consultant Eamonn Cannon led Taylor Wessing’s legal team. Associates James Dutson, Jeena Atwal, Natasha Cooper, Alistair Watson, Emma Tait, Jill Hamilton and Gabriel Estevez supported the partners throughout the deal.
Dechert’s team consisted of a number of partners in Luxembourg and Germany. It included partners Jean-Louis Frognet, Achim Puetz, Olaf Fasshauer, and Hans Stamm.
Real estate partner Julian Pollock led HSF’s team.
Jones Day and Olswang advise DV4 on £1.4bn residential deal
Jones Day and Olswang acted for Delancey’s client fund DV4 on the £1.4bn merger of the residential assets at London’s East Village and Elephant & Castle.
The deal saw DV4, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Dutch pension fund asset manager APG join forces to create an equal partnership. The newly created portfolio consists of 4,000 rented homes, which will be managed and leased through Get Living London.
Olswang tax partner Clíona Kirby and corporate partner Paul Blackmore advised DV4 on the corporate aspects of merging the East Village into the new partnership.
Blackmore said: “We were pleased to advise DV4 on this landmark residential property transaction, which was incredibly complex and combined the expertise of dozens of lawyers. The partnership’s future residential properties will no doubt shape the London real estate market in the years to come.”
Jones Day also advised DV4 on the corporate and real estate aspects of the Elephant & Castle assets. Partner Anna Cartwright led the team with assistance from partner Alex Millar.
Mishcon De Reya acted for Qatar Diar and DV4 with a team comprised of real estate partners Stephen Hughes, construction partner Simon Hunter and legal director Louise Tainton.
Delancey was advised by partner Howard Goldsobel from Michael Conn Goldsobel Solicitors.