Olswang advises DV4 on £1.4 billion London residential property deal

This article was produced by Olswang LLP, which joined with CMS on 1 May 2017.

International law firm Olswang has advised long-standing client DV4, a Delancey advised fund, on the £1.4 billion merger of the East Village and Elephant & Castle residential assets.

The deal sees DV4, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Dutch pension fund asset manager APG join forces to create an equal partnership in the large scale residential investment sector. The partnership creates an initial portfolio of 4,000 new market-rate rented homes located across London's East Village and Elephant & Castle. All homes will be managed and leased through Get Living London.

Led by Olswang Tax Partner Clíona Kirby and Corporate Partner Paul Blackmore, the firm advised DV4 on corporate aspects of merging the East Village into the new partnership and the tax structuring of the deal as a whole including Elephant & Castle. Mishcon de Reya led by Stephen Hughes advised upon the real estate aspects of the East Village. Olswang and Mishcon de Reya have acted on the East Village since it was acquired by DV4 and Qatari Diar in 2011, and Olswang have advised on the tax aspects of Elephant & Castle since it was acquired by DV4 and APG in 2013.

Olswang Corporate Partner Paul Blackmore commented: "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".

In addition to Clíona and Paul, the deal was executed with the assistance of Olswang Corporate Partner Katie Nagy de Nagybaczon; Tax Legal Director Matthew Wentworth-May; Tax Associate Rebecca Griffiths; Corporate Associates Christian Spelzini, Nicole Gyring-Nielsen, Alice Hyde and Jenny Ireland; Finance Associate Caroline Dodman and Corporate Trainees William Holder; Toby Lovett and Lucinda Richardson.

Olswang acted alongside Jones Day whose team was led by Anna Cartwright and was acting on Elephant & Castle corporate and real estate aspects.

The Mishcon de Reya team comprised Stephen Hughes, Simon Hunter, Louise Tainton, Daniel Farrand, Matt Bowles and James Brownlie.

Delancey was advised by Howard Goldsobel of Michael Conn Goldsobel.

Read more about Olswang’s international legal practice on the firm’s website.