Wragge & Co helps with sale of Highbury apartments

Oct 7 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post

Lawyers from Wragge & Co are celebrating a personal goal after advising Arsenal FC on the successful sale of the site of its former home Highbury.

The residential development team at the firm, led by Birmingham-based partner Duncan Murphy, worked with Highbury Holdings, a subsidiary of Arsenal Football Club, on the £41 million sale of apartments at its Highbury Square development to London & Stamford.

The apartments were built on part of the north stand of the site, part of the redevelopment of the iconic former home of the Gunners.

Duncan Murphy, who advised Arsenal on all the property aspects of the redevelopment, led a team of real estate experts on the deal. Partner John Dixon and solicitor Gideon Frater, property litigation director Paul Kent, solicitor Ian Brooks and planning partner Karen Howard also assisted. They worked closely with Stuart Wisely, group chief accountant at Arsenal Group.

Mr Murphy said: “This type of deal signals a renewed interest in the London housing market and is a positive sign that the residential development market as a whole is improving.

“With such a significant deal on the table, our knowledge and experience working on the development ensured a successful outcome for both parties.”

The 724-apartment Highbury Square development is built on Arsenal’s former ground following the club’s move to Emirates Stadium in 2006. The development includes residential, retail and leisure accommodation and forms part of the overall Emirates project to regenerate more than 60 acres of land within north London.

This sale is the first residential purchase for commercial property investment group London & Stamford. It principally has interests in office, retail and distribution properties within the UK and selected overseas locations. Jones Day advised London & Stamford.

Wragge & Co’s four-partner residential development team is supported by more than 20 specialists. Part of the full-service Real Estate group, the team works closely with housebuilders and developers and manages large, projects involving multiple land uses and multiple parties. Earlier this year it advised Persimmon Homes on its £60 million contract to provide up to 500 affordable homes to a consortium of four Registered Social Landlords.

At the same time as the Arsenal deal, the group also helped international property group Goodman secure the largest pre-let deal to be signed this year. The group confirmed it will build a 500,000 square foot distribution centre for the Co-operative Group at its Andover Commercial Park in Hampshire.

Jason Dalby, the UK managing director of Goodman Logistics, said: “The Wragge & Co team did a great job in helping to ensure that the transaction was successfully delivered on time and with minimum fuss.”

Goodman is an integrated property group that owns, develops and manages industrial property and business space around the world. With £9.1 million of assets under management, Goodman invests in business parks, industrial estates and warehouse distribution centres.