National law firm Shoosmiths has advised long-standing clients, Nurton Developments Limited (Nurton), on the £95m sale of its landmark asset management project, 2 Colmore Square and Cannon House.
The sale completed yesterday (22 August), following an exchange of contracts in July.
Shoosmiths has advised the developers since the back to frame redevelopment of the interconnected buildings commenced in 2004. In that time, the firm has advised on the comprehensive refurbishment of the property and letting aspects. Shoosmiths also took 40,000sqft of the building in 2013, the single biggest floorplate in the city that year.
The two iconic buildings that lie in the heart of the city's Colmore Business District, have now been sold to RPMI Railpen - one of the UK's largest and longest established pension funds - for £95m, in what is the largest property transaction in Birmingham to date this year.
The properties offer 300,000 sq ft of commercial space across seven upper floors with retail units at ground level. Occupiers include Jacobs UK, Energy Systems Catapult, Highways England, BPP University College, the Insolvency Service, a major high street lender and Shoosmiths.
Shoosmiths' head of real estate in Birmingham, Jason Jackson, has managed the relationship with Nurton since 2004 and led the deal on its sale, with support from real estate partner Tim Flight, construction partner Simon Wain and paralegal Stacey Bartlett.
Rupert Young, development director at Nurton Developments, said: "We're proud of what we achieved with the back to frame refurbishment of this significant asset. Having completed the vast majority of our business plan now is an appropriate time to recycle the capital and look for new value add opportunities.
"Shoosmiths has advised us since 2004 on our landmark project, Colmore Square and Cannon House. Every time, we have received exemplary advice from Jason and his team."
Shoosmiths' Jason Jackson, said: "It's been a pleasure to advise Nurton Developments for all these years on a key project for them - to now have advised on the deal to sell the property for £95m is the icing on the cake.
"We have dealt with a number of property transactions over the years that have changed the face of Birmingham and the wider Midlands region, and pride ourselves on the strength, depth and broad range of expertise all under one roof. What sets us apart are the relationships we build and our commitment to our clients - it has been a pleasure to work with Nurton Developments and we look forward to working with them again."
Shoosmiths' national real estate team has been shortlisted for Legal Team of the Year at the Estates Gazette Awards 2018. Shoosmiths' growing real estate team is one of the largest in the UK and services include a wide variety of clients on real estate, construction, planning, property litigation and environmental issues. Clients range from commercial and residential developers to investors, major corporate occupiers and public sector bodies.