Disposal needed input from five jurisdictions

Jul 18 2007 by Iain Laing, The Journal

LAW firm Mincoffs has completed a £46m asset disposal between The Bloomsbury Group and multi-millionaire property magnates, the Tchenguiz family.

The Newcastle firm of solicitors acted as lead advisers for the disposal of assets and part of The Bloomsbury Group in a deal which is believed to be the highest value transaction of its kind in the North-East this year.

This disposal completes the first phase of the reconstruction of The Bloomsbury Group, a Swiss-based investment company.

The assets have been sold to a buyer controlled by the Tchenguiz family, owners of multi-million property company, Rotch, which currently owns and manages property portfolios and assets valued in excess of £1bn.

The asset disposal was coordinated by Mincoffs senior partner, Howard Gold who fielded a large team of solicitors in a transaction which involved input from lawyers in five different jurisdictions. London law firm Travers Smith acted on behalf of the buyer.

Gold said: “This was a very complex, high value transaction and was critical to the client’s strategic plan. In addition to the numerous jurisdictions involved, there were no less than 10 different lenders to contend with on the sales side alone.

“The successful completion of this disposal again demonstrates our ability to handle complex, high value work, normally associated only with larger firms.”

Bloomsbury still retains a high value investment portfolio but now intends to diversify into development. The company already has a number of potential developments in the pipeline.

Mincoffs was established in 1948 and is one of the leading niche commercial law firms in the area, offering a full range of commercial legal services which includes litigation, property, employment, licensing and business law.

The firm has had a strong year with transactions exceeding £750m. One highlight was the acquisition of a development property portfolio with a value of over £200m for Metnor Group and another was the flotation of Northern Bear which involved the acquisition of five local industrial companies with a total value involved of £12m.

Its commercial property team has been active Mincoffs has already concluded transactions to the value of some £550m this year including their assistance with the recent acquisition of the Ladhar Group by Wessex Taverns and Utopian Leisure has also made some notable acquisitions.

The firm’s Osborne Terrace offices bought three years ago have now been filled to overflowing and the firm has acquired a new 4,000sq ft office in Portland Terrace.

It achieved Investors in People status in 1997 and was last year awarded Lexcel accreditation from the Law Society.