SJ Berwin handed Vector's LSE Reit IPO

SJ Berwin is advising hotel group Vector Hospitality on its £2.64bn IPO on the London Stock Exchange's official list. The newly created company will list as a real estate investment trust (Reit), one of the first property companies to be set up as a Reit rather than converting to one. The deal is being financed through a mixture of debt, consisting of listed convertible bonds, term loans and equity. The business will consist of 78 hotels contributed by the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and the Alternative Hotel Group (AHG) with brand names Hilton, DeVere, Malmaison and Hotel du Vin. The SJ Berwin team is being led by corporate real estate partner David Ryland. Other law firms involved are: Linklaters for Deutsche Bank; Berwin Leighton Paisner for Royal Bank of Scotland; Dickson Minto for HBOS; DLA Piper for AHG and Cameron Investment Managers; and Taylor Wessing for Vision Hospitality Asset Management. Clifford Chance, meanwhile, is acting for Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS as lenders.