Gordons joins City’s finest on Morrisons purchase

Yorkshire firm Gordons has joined City firms ­Herbert Smith and SJ Berwin on one of the biggest ­property deals of the year, advising supermarket chain Morrisons on the purchase of a 920,000sq ft distribution centre in Kent.

Paul Ayre, the managing partner of ­Gordons, led the team advising Morrisons, while SJ Berwin partner Joanne Footitt and Herbert Smith partner Shelagh McKibbin acted for logistics company Gazeley and ­Standard Life Investments respectively.

Ayre said: “The negotiations were tough but there was also a significant amount of high-level cooperation with the Herbert Smith and SJ Berwin teams, which allowed us to keep the momentum of the deal going so it could be delivered in under a week.”

Morrisons had originally agreed to lease the building but decided to buy the ­distribution centre when owners Gazeley and Standard Life Investments made it known that they were looking to sell it.