Nabarro Nathanson has consolidated its relationship with Quintain Estates and Development after advising the property company on its £48m acquisition of the Wembley Complex, tipped to be one of London's most lucrative development sites.
Nabarros is now main adviser to Quintain, at a time when the company is making a big effort to raise its profile. Nabarros was first instructed by Quintain around two years ago and has seen an increasing flow of work since then. Other advisers are understood to include Manches.
The Wembley deal comes less than three months after Nabarros advised Quintain as part of the consortium that sealed a controversial deal to take on the Millennium Dome and land comprising 180 acres on the Greenwich Peninsula. Nabarros' property partner Graham Lust said: “Prior to the Dome, work was floating over from previous lawyers to us. Then it took off with the Dome.”
With the Wembley deal, Quintain has stepped into another difficult regeneration site, taking on 44 acres surrounding the land earmarked for the new and long-delayed national stadium. Quintain bought the land after it was withdrawn from sale by Wembley plc during the confusion surrounding the national stadium project. Under the terms of the deal, Quintain has bought the company Wembley London, which owns and manages the Wembley Conference Centre, Wembley Exhibition Halls and Wembley Arena, plus 22 acres of land.
Wembley plc, which has reinvented itself as a dog track owner, was advised by Lawrence Graham on property and Memery Crystal on corporate aspects of the deal. Catherine Diggle and Lesley Gregory led the respective teams.
Nabarros fielded the same team of 22 on both the Dome and Wembley transactions. On the Wembley deal, Nabarros is advising Quintain on its talks with Wembley National Stadium, the subsidiary of the Football Association that is managing the stadium's development, to ensure they can work side by side and resolve any conflicts.
Under Quintain's proposals, the arena, conference centre and other businesses on site will continue to operate. The company is also working with the Richard Rogers Partnership on plans for houses, shops and a hotel.
Rob Raimes, lead property partner on the acquisition, said: “The Wembley purchase itself was a highly complex deal as a result of the interrelationship between the existing stadium site, which does not fall within the remit of this deal, and the proposed future redevelopments which span some 44 acres. A highly complicated and demanding deal was completed very quickly, with simultaneous exchange and completion.”
Iain Newman and Gareth Jones headed the corporate team with Raimes and Lust leading on property.
The team worked closely with Quintain property director Nick Shattock, a former SJ Berwin partner. Lust said: “It is exciting working with a client who understands both the property and legal aspects of a deal such as this. Crucially, it allows us to concentrate on the core issues and provides a challenging forum in which to apply property and commercial law. Nick pushes us hard.”