Jones Day and Mishcons oversee Notting Hill retail property deal

Mishcons advised family-owned private landlord Williams Pears Group and LaSalle Investment Management on the £131m acquisition of the Notting Hill Estate, which includes iconic buildings such as the Coronet Cinema, from Land Securities and Delancey.

The deal was structured as a joint venture, a growing trend in the current climate, with investors and property owners clubbing together to buy assets that represent development, refurbishment and asset management opportunities.

Mishcons’ real estate partner Nick Doffman led the deal and has worked with William Pears on a number of smaller transactions in the past, although the firm does not have any formal panel advisory arrangement.

On this occasion Doffman worked alongside corporate partner Larry Nathan and real estate finance partner Nick Strutt.

Doffman commented: “[This deal] involved a lot of people and a lot of work. It’s a combination of investment and development matters. There’s a lot of ongoing work resulting from it and it has further cemented our relationship with William Pears.”

The Notting Hill Estate is situated along Notting Hill Gate and Kensington Church Street, and is comprised primarily of prime retail shops and restaurants, along with office accommodation, a cinema and car parking spaces.

Mishcons recently acquired Delancey as a client after it was brought along by a high-profile property team from SJ Berwin including Nick Minkoff and Stephen Hughes.

However, in this instance Delancey was represented by Jones Day partners Suzanne Davis and Iain Hinghaugh.