Addleshaw Goddard has advised long standing real estate client Bruntwood on its landmark 50:50 partnership with Legal & General Capital (Legal & General) to create the UK’s largest property platform dedicated to driving science and technology growth in regional cities.

The deal will see the two partners invest £360m of capital, property and intellectual assets into a new company, Bruntwood SciTech, with a business plan supporting the creation of 20,000 high value jobs. 

The deal represents the largest investment made in science and technology property assets in Europe this year. It ignites a business plan that will see Bruntwood SciTech’s assets grow from 1.3 million sq ft on day one to over 6.2 million sq ft over the next ten years, increasing the value of the portfolio to £1.8bn.

The Addleshaw Goddard team was led by corporate partner, Michael Birchall and included Stephen Kinsey and Brian Ghatan (Real Estate), Chris Henshaw (Construction) and Phil McGough (Commercial).

Michael Birchall, commenting said: "This has been a hugely exciting project to be involved with, not least because it's the largest deal of its kind. The creation of Bruntwood SciTech as a joint venture between Bruntwood and L&G Capital Investments brings a powerful portfolio of real estate assets relating to science and technology together with access to capital which will kickstart funding for sizable schemes.

The Bruntwood portfolio includes notable sites such as Circle Square, the site of the BBC’s former Oxford Rd offices in Manchester city centre, and the 400 acre Alderley Park site in Cheshire which is now home to 65 SMEs and 150 start-up companies in biotech."

It took great effort and commitment from our deal team, in conjunction with Bruntwood and CBRE, to deliver an outcome that will benefit all parties involved for years to come."

Leona Ahmed, co-head of AG's real estate sector said: "Bruntwood has a long-standing reputation for driving regeneration projects, focused on creating dynamic cities throughout the UK. This new Joint Venture with Legal & General will capitalise on the fast-moving and high growth science and tech sectors, and will help to unlock the potential of UK regional cities through major new development and employment opportunities."