Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Helical plc and AshbyCapital on letting to Chicago Booth School of Business

International law firm Clifford Chance has advised Helical plc and AshbyCapital on the letting of three floors at new development One Bartholomew in the City of London to the University of Chicago Booth School of Business for use as its new campus in London.

The letting sees the top-rated business school take approximately 43,800 square feet, amounting to 20% of the lettable space in the building, as it expands its presence in Europe and increases its engagement with the business and finance community in London, where many of its alumni and students work.

One Bartholomew is a 12-storey, 215,000 square foot Grade A office building located within the Barts Square development, a 3.2 acre mixed-use redevelopment in West Smithfield in the City of London.

Commenting on the transaction, lead Real Estate Partner Ian Painter said: "This letting to a leading global executive business education institute reinforces London's long-term appeal to financial and business executives, despite the continuing political uncertainty over Brexit. The transaction demonstrates that well-designed and conveniently located office buildings will continue to prove popular with tenants and justify further investment by developers in a global financial centre such as London."

Helical has delivered over 10 million square foot of development since its formation as a property company and has completed approximately 1.5 million square foot of offices in central London within the last five years. These projects include the new development at Creechurch Place, the refurbishment of The Bower at Old Street, the transformation of Barts Square, the refurbishment of 25 Charterhouse Square and the ongoing over-station development at Farringdon East. Clifford Chance has worked in partnership with long-standing client Helical plc on all of these schemes, signifying the firm's commitment to complex, high value development projects in the UK.

Clifford Chance Partner Ian Painter led the transaction team and was assisted by Associates Melissa Sykes and Ivan Yuen. Planning input was provided by Partner Nigel Howorth and Associate Mark Mulholland. Construction input was provided by Director Marianne Toghill, Senior Associate Edward Bretherton and Senior Associate Adam Waite.