24 March 2005

Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advise on sale of 20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf

Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer have advised on the sale of a 999 year leasehold property situated at 20 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, for £337.5m in cash.

The 12-floor glass and steel office tower of 555,000 sq ft is principally let to British Petroleum and The McGraw Hill Companies and was sold to a subsidiary of Barclays Bank plc. The Barclays subsidiary has in turn entered into arrangements with Brascan Corporation, the Canadian real estate, power generation and and asset management company, under which Brascan acquired a significant interest in 20 Canada Square. Barclays Bank plc also provided the debt finance.

The deal was particularly challenging as it was closed in just under four weeks.

Clifford Chance LLP advised Canary Wharf Group while Allen & Overy acted for Barclays Bank plc and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Brascan Corporation.

The Clifford Chance team was led by real estate partner Tony Briam (assisted by Alan Wight, Justin Turner, Sarah Thomas, Sarah Clayton and Marcus Hannah), tax partners Michael Wistow and Sarah Squires (assisted by Alex Beattie) and capital markets partner Peter Taylor.

The Allen & Overy team was led by real estate partner Imogen Moss (assisted by Jonathan Wolinsky, Mary Campbell and on the construction side Mark Godfrey), tax partner Christopher Harrison (assisted by Mark Middleditch) and corporate partner David Broadley (assisted by Rory Mullarkey).

A separate Allen & Overy team headed by banking partner Simon Roberts and real estate partner Rod Brown advised Barclays on the debt side.

The Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team was led by real estate partner John Fordham and finance partner Chris Howard and included associates Kuljit Ghata-Aura (corporate) Robert Peel (real estate) and Fergus Wheeler (finance).

Notes for editors

Allen & Overy

1. Allen & Overy is an international legal practice with approximately 4,800 staff, including some 430 partners, working in 25 major centres worldwide.

2. Allen & Overy has a long history with Canary Wharf, having advised the administrators during the administration, subsequently the banks on the development financing and securitisations and more recently RBS plc on the acquisition of 5 Canada Square and Citigroup Tower, 25 Canada Square.

3. In this press release 'Allen & Overy' means Allen & Overy LLP and/or its affiliated undertakings.

4. Any reference to a partner in relation to Allen & Overy LLP means a member, consultant or employee of Allen & Overy LLP.

Clifford Chance

1. Clifford Chance is ranked first in commercial property, hotels and real estate finance by the UK Legal 500 Directory (2004-2005) and Chambers UK Directory (2004-2005).

2. Tony Briam is named as a leading individual in commercial property by UK Chambers (2004-05), Global Counsel (2005) and Guide of the World's Leading Lawyers (5th edition).

3. Clifford Chance Limited Liability Partnership is the first fully integrated global law firm, with 29 offices in 19 countries.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

1. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer is a leading international law firm providing a comprehensive worldwide service to national and multinational corporations, financial institutions and governments.

2. The firm has previously acted on the acquisition of over six million sq ft of office space at Canary Wharf for clients including HSBC, CSFB, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers and Clifford Chance.

3. The firm's European real estate network provides an integrated service to clients working in all aspects of commercial real estate across Europe. As well as mainstream real estate work, the team advise on planning and public law issues; opportunities for tax efficiency; innovative financing methods; the impact of environmental law; construction law; and corporate structures.

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