Michelmores has advised the Mayor’s Office For Policing And Crime (MOPAC) on its acquisition of The Empress State Building in Earls Court, London for a purchase price of £250M. Whilst the building was already occupied by the Metropolitan Police Service, under a lease, for back office and operational functions, this freehold acquisition has secured the Met’s long term occupation.
Forming part of the Mayor of London’s £412M investment to create a new, single-site, counter-terrorism and organised crime hub for the Metropolitan Police Service, the acquisition will, for the first time, bring the Met’s counter-terrorism command and specialist crime and operations under one roof. The acquisition paves the way for a significant upgrade project to make the building and associated sites fully secure and fit for purpose.
The transaction team was led by Richard Honey, Head of Asset Management at Michelmores and involved over 15 Michelmores lawyers.
Richard Honey said:
“Having worked closely with MOPAC in recent years, on a number of high profile and sensitive transactions, we are delighted to have successfully concluded this one for them within an extremely tight timescale while pulling together the breadth and depth of a number of our cross-departmental and cross-office disciplines.”
“Our role in delivering this acquisition for such a prestigious institutional client reflects our increasing activity and involvement in the London real estate market.”
The Michelmores team comprised of:
Partners: Ian Binnie, Chris Hoar, Ian Holyoak, Richard Honey, Mark Howard, Carol McCormack
Other: Catherine Davis, Consultant Solicitor, Yvonne Farrell, Solicitor, Phil Parrott, Associate, Sarah Phillips, Associate.
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