National law firm Freeths’ specialist property and commercial teams have secured another large property deal worth £84m with the acquisition of more than 50 business centre properties across the UK. The firm advised its client Bridges Ventures on all the commercial and property aspects of this complex deal.
More than 2000 business tenants were involved in the process, operating out of serviced office centres, light industrial/workshop units, self storage and other high quality commercial premises designed for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) mainly in the Midlands, the North and Scotland.
Led by Chris Freeston (Commercial), Adam Watson (Property) and Kate Hillier (Commercial), a team of more than 20 solicitors from Freeths’ offices in Nottingham, London, Manchester, Oxford and Leicester, worked alongside Bridges Ventures for many months to acquire the Evans Easyspace property portfolio from the vendor, Regus plc. The Freeths’ team advised on the acquisition negotiations, undertook due diligence on the properties, and advised on the management agreement that will see Regus retained to manage the assets on behalf of Bridges.
Chris Freeston of Freeths, said: “This was a relatively complex process because of the multiple locations and number of stakeholders involved but we have a large and growing team that is experienced in handling deals of this kind. We are seeing increasing confidence in the SME market and a growing appetite for assets outside London and the south-east amongst big property investors like Bridges.”
Bridges is a specialist fund dedicated to sustainable and impact investment and this acquisition fits with its ethos of supporting local business growth and employment.
Tom Tyler, Investment Director for the Bridges Property Alternatives fund, said:
“We are delighted to have acquired this high-quality business space portfolio. Flexible leasing and fixed inclusive pricing are particularly attractive to SME occupiers, and we look forward to working with Regus, the global leader in this sector, to improve the offer to customers. We and Regus will also seek opportunities to enlarge the portfolio through further acquisitions with a focus on locations where there is currently no representation.”
Richard Morris, CEO of Regus UK, said: “We are very pleased to be working together with Bridges as their long-term partner in this project and we are confident that the type of arrangement we have agreed will be playing to the strengths of both parties. Our service model can add significant value to portfolios of this nature and we will continue to seek further opportunities of this type.”