Mayer Brown and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner advise on Link REIT's £380 million acquisition of first UK asset, The Cabot

London — Mayer Brown has advised Link REIT, Asia’s largest real estate investment trust, on its acquisition of the office building at 25 Cabot Square (“The Cabot”) in Canary Wharf, London from HGR Liquidating Trust (formerly Hines Global REIT) for £380 million. It is the largest single asset UK office building deal for 2020, to date. HGR Liquidating Trust was advised by Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP). 

The landmark, 17-storey, Grade A building of 481,605 square feet has recently been refurbished and is Link’s first acquisition in the UK. The building, which is almost fully occupied, adds resilience to Link’s portfolio in line with its growth strategy.  

The Mayer Brown team was led by UK head of Real Estate, Chris Harvey and included: Real Estate — partners Andrew Hepner and Anita Jones, counsel Ross Berridge and Robert Patterson, senior associates Erin Brayshaw, Tim Collier, Annabel Ersser, Danielle Gerber and Sarah Rochelle and associate Hollie Norman (all London); Litigation & Dispute Resolution — partners Jonathan Olson-Welsh and Kwadwo Sarkodie, senior associate Sean Hummerstone and associate Danishe Arshad (all London); Corporate & Securities — partners Jeckle Chiu (Hong Kong) and Neil Evans (London), senior associates Alastair Dolman and Josh Reynolds and associates Zayn Khan (all London) and Andrew Koon (Hong Kong); Restructuring — senior associate Nicola Collins; Planning & Environment — partner Michael Hutchinson and counsel Tim Baines; Employment & Benefits — partner Chris Fisher and associate Francesca Ingham; International Trade — partner Jason Hungerford and senior associate Paul Whitfield-Jones; Tax Transactions & Consulting — partner Simon Rose, counsel Kitty Swanson and senior associate Matt O’Brien; and Intellectual Property — partner Mark Prinsley (all London). 

The BCLP team acting for the seller was led by partners Emma Le Wita, Adam Bogdanor and Chris de Pury and included associate director Laura Patao-Caminas, associate Elizabeth Wong and trainee solicitor Oliver Cross (Corporate), associate Daniel Burnand (Real Estate), and partner Elizabeth Bradley, senior associate Andy West and associate George Croft (Tax).