Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance Real Estate advises Helical Bar on acquisition of St Barts

Clifford Chance has advised longstanding client, Helical Bar on the acquisition through a joint venture of the freehold interest in land and buildings at Bartholomew Close, Little Britain and Montague Street, from Barts and The London Charity.

The site is currently largely occupied by the NHS and related occupiers as a hospital but will in due course, following the completion of the new St Bartholomew's Hospital on an adjacent site, be available for a major mixed use redevelopment.  Clifford Chance is also acting on joint venture arrangements in connection with the transaction and is acting on the Bank financing.

Lead Clifford Chance Partner and Head of London Real Estate, Jonathan Solomon, comments: "This transaction, and with it the potential for the creation of a new mixed use quarter in the City, is both exciting and another example of the recovery in the City development market.  It is always a pleasure to work with our long standing client Helical Bar and we have also been very pleased to assist Helical on this acquisition.  This kind of complex highly structured regeneration project brings together a wide range of our specialist skills and gives us the chance to really add value to our clients.  London is an amazing city and assisting our clients in regenerating its many parts is a hugely satisfying part of our job."

Gerald Kaye, Development Director at Helical Bar, said: "The Clifford Chance team, led by Jonathan Solomon, did an excellent job dealing with what was a complex transaction. They showed strength in depth."

Jonathan Solomon was assisted on the transaction by fellow Real Estate partners Mark Payne and Sarah Thomas in London and Ness Cohen in New York and by a team comprising Simon Gilbert, Sian Thomas, Geraldine Pigot, Sarah McGinley and Alastair Alderton.  All aspects of the transaction including the joint venture and finance arrangements were dealt with out of the Real Estate practice as part of our one stop shop approach to the real estate sector.