DICKINSON Dees has played a major role in the deal which has seen Newcastle-based property company Grainger take full control of a portfolio of 1,630 units in central London with a current market value of approximately £285m.
A multi-disciplinary team at Dickinson Dees’ Newcastle office advised on the deal which saw Grainger buy Genesis Housing Group’s 50% share in Grainger GenInvest Partnerships.
The deal involved Grainger acquiring Genesis’ stake and associated loan notes for a total of £15m, which saw Genesis realise value from the joint venture investment it made when the portfolios were acquired several years ago from the Church Commissioners.
Members of Dickinson Dees’ corporate, property, tax, banking and finance and employment teams, led by partners Jamie Pass, Paul Coleman and Nigel Emmerson, worked on the transaction.
This has seen Grainger become the sole owner of the portfolio which includes eight residential blocks of flats and a number of commercial units. These assets currently generate a gross rent roll of £12m.
Jamie Pass said: “This was a complex deal that had to be completed against a challenging timetable.
“It involved Grainger buying out its joint venture partner whilst simultaneously refinancing the Grainger GenInvest Partnerships’ debt facilities.
“From our point of view, it was especially satisfying to work closely with Grainger across a whole range of disciplines, with our corporate, property, tax, banking and employment teams being heavily involved.”
Nick On, general counsel of Grainger, said: “This is a high quality portfolio and was a rare opportunity to acquire over 1,600 units, most of which are within four miles of Westminster and which Grainger is already familiar with.
“To complete such a complicated deal in a compressed timescale required a fantastic team effort from everyone at Dickinson Dees, and that played a key part in achieving a great result for Grainger.”
The lead team members from Dickinson Dees were Jamie Pass and Iain Pritty, corporate; Nigel Emmerson and Emma Garfit, property; Lee Parbery, tax; Paul Coleman and Kirsty Lienard, banking and finance; and Laura Daniels, employment.
The Grainger GenInvest Partnerships have also secured £120m of new debt facilities from HSBC and Santander, with the Dickinson Dees team advising on the terms of the new facilities.
Grainger has completed five major deals since announcing its annual results in November, when it revealed that pre-tax losses had dipped from £170m to £20.8m in the year to the end of September. It made an adjusted profit before tax of £18.8m.
It was especially satisfying to work closely with Grainger across a whole range of disciplines.
