Real Estate 2022 Round-up
The dust has just about settled on the year that was 2022. And what a year it was for the Real Estate Team at EMW! Suffice to say, we have been at the forefront and centre of many notable transactions across a variety of sectors.
To kick things off, we sold over £50m of mixed-use commercial properties across the length and breadth of the country, all for a leading pension fund client for whom we have acted for a number of years. It was a particularly busy year for this client and it certainly kept our occupiers and investment team busy.
On the retail side, despite wider economic woes, we did see continued growth in the top end of the market. We were delighted to act for a renowned international footwear retailer on the opening of three new retail stores across the UK. We also acted for several high-end luxury fashion retailers including the opening of two flagship stores on New Bond Street in central London.
Demand for social housing is greater than ever. Our development and social housing team have been at the forefront of helping deliver new housing stock on behalf of our housing association client base. Notably, we acted for Grand Union Housing Group in their two largest acquisitions to date, totalling almost 200 units from two PLC developers who jointly developed a site by way of a collaboration agreement. The deal represented a huge deal for both the housing association and EMW’s social housing team with a value of over £30million.
On the planning and construction side, we continued to see growth in demand for our services across the Ox-Cam arc region as well as London and the southern home counties and we see this continuing into 2023.
On the property finance side, we were delighted to be appointed to 2 further Bank panels with initial instructions culminating in lending values close to £250m in the first 6 months. We were involved in deals ranging from the south west of England all the way up to the north east and northwest. Refinancing was a big theme in 2022, as investors looked to act quickly upon the news of likely interest rate rises.
We look forward to working with both existing and new clients as we head into 2023.
Get in touch
For any Real Estate matters or enquiries, please contact Terence Ritchie.