Howard Kennedy, Maples Teesdale act on studio sale

Howard Kennedy acted for the purchaser Panther Capital on the acquisition of the site, which includes 200,000sq ft of warehouses and 50 sets including a courtroom, a hospital, a pub and police cells, in addition to 45,000 costume pieces.

It is thought that the property may be used as a film studio in future.

Howard Kennedy corporate partner Tony Hunt, who worked alongside corporate associate Zoe Hunt and property partner Sanjeev Shah, commented: “We’ve been working with Panther chairman Andrew Perloff for decades, and formally acting for Panther for the past year or so. It was essentially a very quick deal, done within a week.

“One would like to say that was because of the supreme efficiency of the law firms on both sides but key was the commercial approach taken by both sides.”

Maples Teesdale relationship partner Roger Thornton acted for Fremantle Media, owner of the Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor brands, on the disposal of the site. He was assisted by corporate partner Paul Burke, who dealt with the asset sale agreement, selling the IT, contracts and TUPE of staff.

His firm first picked up property work for Fremantle after a referral from music publisher BMG.