Expertise

Lucy is a partner in our real estate division, who advises across a range of sectors, including offices, living and life sciences. 

Case highlights include:

Offices:

• Acting for Bruntwood on the purchase of Pall Mall Court, Manchester: a grade-two listed building in central Manchester which was exchanged within 10 days following instruction. As part of Bruntwood's £100m Pioneer programme, it will be refurbished to be a modern office with a design focused on biophilia, art, wellness, amenity, sustainability and technology.
• Acting for Bruntwood on its strategic partnership with Siemens, PJ Livesey and Manchester City Council on the delivery of Didsbury Technology Park at West Didsbury, Manchester.
• Advising Bruntwood on the redevelopment of Platform, Leeds.

Living:

• Acting for Watkin Jones on the acquisition and forward funding of several living schemes, including:
• the acquisition of a one-acre site in Stratford, East London for the development of 394 student homes and commercial space
• the acquisition of a site in Selly Oak, Birmingham for the development of a 523 student home scheme 
• the sale (by way of forward funding) of Watkin Jones' first co-living scheme on Gladstone Road in Exeter to Ropemaker Properties Limited, the real estate arm of BP's pension fund, for circa £16.9 million. The scheme will offer 133 studio homes enjoying a shared kitchen, lounges, library, cinema room, gym, courtyard garden and dining area, as well as co-working spaces
• Advising Europa on its acquisition (by way of forward funding) of Mulbury's Bendix Street development in Manchester. The 12-storey building will comprise a total of 161 build-to-rent units, including a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at mid-market rents, across c. 138,300 sq ft of space
• Leading the property elements of several UPP student accommodation projects including:
• a £30m capex deal for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of circa 500 rooms at the University of Kent; 
• the £78m refinancing (including £67m senior debt provided by Allianz Global Investors through a 33 year indexed-linked bond) of 911 rooms at The Nottingham Trent University; and
• a circa £126m transaction with the University of Hull, for a student accommodation scheme providing 1,462 new rooms at the West Campus Residences and the operation and refurbishment of 288 rooms at the existing Taylor Court accommodation.

Life Sciences:

• Advising Bruntwood SciTech in relation to the development of Birmingham Health Innovation Campus: world-leading life sciences campus which is due to open in 2023.
• After acting on its original purchase in 2014, Lucy leads the team on all real estate matters at Alderley Park, a 400 acre bio science research and development facility based in Cheshire.