Charles Russell Speechlys advises Topland Group on two key transactions
Charles Russell Speechlys recently advised Topland Group on two key transactions, both completing within two weeks of each other and the second completing within just 6 days of being instructed.
The first was a £20m loan to refinance the acquisition costs of a property near Liverpool Street Station, London. There were added layers of complexity as the property had been purchased via the acquisition of shares in the PropCo SPV, with the property being hived-up to the borrower post-completion. The transaction was also cross-jurisdictional with security being taken from Lux and Hong Kong entities.
The second was a £7m short-term bridging loan to fund the acquisition of a large site at a distribution centre in Birmingham. Security was granted over this site but also over a second site in Shoreditch, London where the existing building had been demolished with planning to build a hotel and office space. Both sites had complex titles with a sub-sale involved in the acquisition of the Birmingham site. The Charles Russell Speechlys team worked intensely to meet the client’s tight deadline.
On completion of the second transaction, Sumeer Bose (structured finance team) from Topland Group said:
“The Charles Russell Speechlys team have gone beyond both Topland and the Borrowers expectations in meeting the unprecedented timeframe required to complete. Which has been achieved due to the teams sheer hard work, dedication and commerciality in closing. We look forward to continuing and growing our relationship with Charles Russell Speechlys for the year ahead.”
Naomi Nettleton, Partner, commented:
“We are delighted to have used our cross office, cross jurisdictional teams to work with Topland Group on these two important complex transactions and to deliver bridging finance solutions, particularly within such a tight timeframe, for two sizeable acquisitions.”
The team was led by Real Estate partner Naomi Nettleton with support from Daniel Sullivan, Cara Whiffin, Adel Shetty, Leigh Stimpson and Phoebe Grizzell (Banking), Sarah Keens (Real Estate), Sarah Wigington (Corporate) Helen Coward (Tax), Andrew Keeley (Construction) and Victor Regnard, Claire Moura, Clément Missey (Luxembourg).
