Advising on 'South Wales' largest commercial property deal in the past 12 months'

Our Corporate & Commercial and Real Estate teams advised AW Properties Limited on its debut UK real estate deal of acquiring a fully let 150,000 sq ft office block in Celtic Springs Business Park in Newport, Wales from GII. The acquisition was completed on 28 March 2023 for an undisclosed amount.

This deal is understood to be the largest South Wales commercial property deal in the past 12 months.

AW Properties Limited is a Guernsey-based property company that operates as the Al Wazzan family’s real estate company.

Commenting on the deal, Rawia Guedri, CFO of Al Wazzan Family Office, said: “We are delighted that our debut commercial property acquisition in the UK involves a well-located office with strong fundamentals and income growth opportunities. The opportunity satisfies our investment criteria, offering numerous benefits including a long-term secure lease with fixed rental uplifts to a large global blue-chip occupier who has already committed capital to refurbish and further upgrade the building. Greenwoods’ Corporate & Commercial and Real Estate teams played a pivotal role on this deal, and their support was invaluable in getting this deal over the line.”

We provided complex legal advice to AW Properties Limited in connection with this transaction which included a split exchange and completion, complex financing arrangements and multiple jurisdictions.

Head of Corporate & Commercial, Stephen Jarvis, said: “We were delighted to be given the opportunity to work on this multi-jurisdictional acquisition and for the Kuwaiti family on its first venture into the UK commercial property market. The complexities of the deal highlighted our astute commercial awareness and strong technical capabilities, as well as showing the depth of our team and everyone’s dedication in getting the deal done. We are delighted to have supported our client on this debut commercial property acquisition in the UK.”