Birketts has advised Cambridgeshire County Council on its first investment property acquisition.
Brunswick House, a 251-bed purpose-built student accommodation property in Cambridge, was purchased for £38m from Apache Capital Partners, a private real estate investment management firm.
The property, which was 100 per cent let for 2017/18 academic year, was completed in July 2012 and is located about a 10 minute walk to Anglia Ruskin University’s Cambridge campus and opposite Compass House, part of Anglia Ruskin University (Computer Sciences).
Cambridge is home to two universities: The University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University, as well as a number of colleges, language schools and international education providers. The city is also regarded as a major commercial centre and one of the world’s leading high technology business clusters and centre of excellence.
Birketts advised on all legal matters with Cameron Barlow leading the team, with support from Natalie Biggs, Naomi Newell and Dwight Patten (Commercial Property), Stefan Harris-Wright (Construction), Karl Pocock (Tax), Paul Palik (Commercial), Steven Bell (Planning) and Abigail Trencher (Employment).
Cameron Barlow, Legal Director in Birketts’ Commercial Property Team, said: “We are delighted to have worked alongside Cambridgeshire County Council and Carter Jonas on the acquisition of this first investment property. In Cambridge there is a significant undersupply of purpose-built student accommodation schemes and this purchase represents a great example of a local authority investing back into their local community.”
Tom Kelly, Head of Finance at Cambridgeshire County Council, concluded: “We appointed Birketts because of their reputation in the marketplace and the complexity and importance of the acquisition. The team worked tirelessly on our behalf and throughout the process we were kept fully informed and had complete peace of mind.”
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The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at October 2018.