‘It mattered as much to them as to the clients’

Aug 1 2007 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A LONDON company buying a £42m business park in Surrey has been advised by Watson Burton, of Newcastle.

The firm helped joint venture company Watchmoor Estates buy Watchmoor Park – a high profile 33-acre landscaped office site at Camberley, next to junction 4 of the M3.

The park is listed by the South-East England Development Agency as one of the key business parks in the region. Occupiers include Toshiba Electronics Europe, Unisys, Fluor Properties Ltd and Intersil Ltd.

The acquisition by the joint venture company of Watchmoor Park was completed in June, involving a complex debt and equity structure.

Watson Burton’s property team, led by Matt Dalzell, advised the joint venture company on the property acquisition, with Mark Lazenby leading the banking team advising on debt funding, which was provided by Capmark Bank Europe.

Equity in the joint venture company and mezzanine debt was injected by Capmark Investments Europe, which was advised by Dechert LLP, and Cinnamon Group (itself a joint venture between Brill Properties and Apsley Assets) which was advised by Watson Burton’s corporate team led by Lester Wilson.

Landid Properties and Vantage Asset Management have been appointed by Watchmoor Estates for their expertise in the asset management and imminent regeneration and refurbishment of the business park, with a view to providing attractive upmarket offices in what is already a prime location.

Mr Dalzell said: “This was a high value deal with a demanding timetable and complex structure between the parties involved. I’m delighted that we achieved all target dates and goals.”

Matt Kelly, of London agent Franc Warwick, put the deal together for the buyer.

He said: “Watson Burton provided three specialist teams in property, corporate finance and banking who worked extremely closely, ensuring that all key aspects came together seamlessly to achieve the benchmarks we set.

“The attitude that they as a firm adopted, and the impression which that attitude created with our clients, is that the deal mattered as much to them as it did to the clients involved. In this deal in particular I feel this shone through.”