Pitmans, the leading Thames Valley law firm with offices in London and Reading, has acted on behalf of The Olympian Group of Connected Companies, in its sale of the retail part of its mixed-use development at Earlsfield, London to M&G Property Portfolio Fund for a consideration of over £5.5 million, by way of the grant of a long lease with the benefit of an existing occupational lease to Sainsburys. The transaction was led by Pitmans Property Partner, Sally Sharp.
The Magdalen is the only new development at Earlsfield that has attracted the first supermarket chain on Earlsfield High Street. This development comprises 8,400 sq ft of retail space at ground level, with 38 residential units set over four floors. In the summer of 2009, Sainsburys took a lease of the retail space for 15 years.
Commenting on the transaction, Mark Slatter, director of Olympian Group, said: “We were fortunate to acquire the Earlsfield site with its close proximity to excellent transport links, with Waterloo only 12 minutes away. The timescale of this transaction was limited, however Pitmans ability to deal with this in an efficient manner is an endorsement of the strength of their team.”
Sally Sharp, Pitmans Property partner added: “It was very satisfying to conclude this leasehold sale for Olympian Group, and we were pleased to provide the depth of expertise and speed of response that our client required.”
Olympian Group has been trading since 1993 and specialises in sourcing and developing mixed commercial and residential sites, predominantly in partnership with ‘blue chip’ retail and hotel end users. Within The Olympian Group of Connected Companies it has conceived and/or delivered some 24 projects during the past 15 years, involving over 2.6m sq ft of mixed development. The group comprises the various property development companies, Larista Construction, the ‘in house’ construction company, and Drew Consulting (project management and cost consultants).
M&G is a leading retail and institutional fund manager in the UK and overseas. It is an autonomous business within the Prudential Group running its own retail funds operation and functioning as the asset manager for Prudential in Europe.