LONDON, April 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading offshore law firm, Mourant Ozannes, beat out more than 800 submissions to be awarded one of the "Deals of the Year 2014" by ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL Magazine for its work in securing the £1.35 billion syndicated development and land financing deal for Phases 2 and 3 of London's iconic Battersea Power Station. In one of the largest UK real estate transactions in recent history, Mourant Ozannes served as offshore legal advisor on behalf of a consortium of Asian investors to progress the highly anticipated restoration of the Power Station, which has sat idle and abandoned for more than 30 years. It is estimated the project will create 25,000 jobs.
Partners Joel Hernandez and James Hill, who led the Mourant Ozannes team as offshore legal advisors on the Battersea deal, said they were delighted to see the magnitude of the transaction recognised by such an independent and influential panel of legal journalists.
"We continue to be delighted to work with the joint venture parties on a project of this scale," Hernandez said. "The size of the facilities and the international syndicate of banks illustrate the level of confidence in the joint venture parties and in the project itself. Its successful completion demonstrates the level of confidence in the market, and in the expertise that we were able to bring to the shareholders and partners."
Mourant Ozannes worked alongside Norton Rose Fulbright in advising the borrowers under the Battersea Power Station syndication. Mourant Ozannes has assisted the joint venture parties since the original acquisition in 2012. Baker & McKenzie, Wong & Leow advised the lenders. CIMB, Maybank and Standard Chartered acted as lead arrangers, bookrunners and joint coordinators. The primary syndicate members were the Singaporean bank DBS, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation and Malaysian bank RHB.
One of the joint venture partners, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), a Malaysian pension fund with more than 12 million members, is a long standing client of the firm. Mourant Ozannes has provided offshore legal advice to EPF on its UK commercial real estate acquisitions including its £150 million acquisition of One Sheldon Square in London, a £148 million acquisition of Whitefriars, Fleet Street, London and its £700 million investment with a consortium in 12 private UK hospitals.
According to Paul Christopher, Managing Partner of the Mourant Ozannes Hong Kong office, there has been a significant increase in requests from clients in Asia and other emerging markets looking to invest in real estate – particularly in the UK, where the stability of the pound, as well as the country's legal and regulatory environment has proven appealing to investors in pursuit of stable returns.
"Mourant Ozannes is positioned uniquely from both a quality and, with an office in Hong Kong, from a location aspect, to provide seamless service and unparalleled counsel to investors in real estate," Christopher said.
It is widely known that offshore holding vehicles offer an efficient way to acquire, hold and extract value from a real estate investment. However, while the legal structure of most offshore jurisdictions can be very similar, it is important for investors to consider the characteristics of each offshore jurisdiction relevant to the markets – both domestic and target – involved in any given transaction. For example, while tax efficiency is certainly a key driver with most investors, that alone is not enough. The jurisdiction must also offer political and fiscal stability and be flexible enough to offer a choice of vehicles that will be familiar to the world at large (eg. companies, unit trusts and partnerships).
These considerations, combined with quality, local service, a solid banking network and security regime and a familiarity with the legal system – which in most cases is similar to England – will typically lead investors to Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for their real estate investments.
In addition to having offices in these four key jurisdictions, Mourant Ozannes' Hong Kong team offers Asian investors "on the ground" support, providing investors the same high-quality service and expertise in their own time zone.
"Asian investors are very active in the real estate market in various markets around the world," added Christopher who recently announced the addition of eight new members to Mourant Ozannes' Hong Kong office. "The growth of our team shows the importance of the Asian market for Mourant Ozannes, and our commitment in providing a technically excellent, high quality offshore service in Asia."
ASIAN-MENA COUNSEL Magazine is one of the world's leading law journals, distributed to more than 42,000 legal professionals across Asia and the Middle East.
About Mourant Ozannes
Mourant Ozannes provides award-winning offshore legal advice from offices in key international finance centres of the BVI, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Hong Kong and London. With more than 56 partners and over 500 employees Mourant Ozannes has the largest litigation practice of any offshore firm, and has received numerous awards for its work, including Best U.S. Offshore Law Firm by Hedge Funds Reviews in 2014, as well as HFMWeek's Best Offshore Law Firm for Client Service from 2011-2014. For more information, please visit: www.mourantozannes.com.
