News: Powell Williams advises Invesco Real Estate on the acquisition of The Fort Shopping Park, Birmingham

Powell Williams provided technical due diligence for Invesco Real Estate’s acquisition of The Fort Shopping Park in Birmingham, one of the Midland’s leading shopping destinations with over 300,000 sq.ft of retail and leisure floorspace, covering 29.4 acres.

The out of town park, equidistant from Junctions 5 and 6 of the M6, consists of 45 units in a C-shaped footprint, around a surface and partial basement car park with a capacity for approximately 1,653 cars with an additional 305 staff car spaces to the rear, with service access roads and yards.

Acquisition advice

Working with George Capital LLP in its capacity as Invesco Real Estate’s operating partner on the project, we inspected the whole park externally, along with 11 vacant units internally, and coordinated the inspection of landlord’s engineering services.

Speed of response

Having “boots on the ground” within a tight timeframe was vital and we were on site within two working days of Heads of Terms being agreed. Our inspection was also undertaken within two days, with heads-up discussions at the end of each day. We issued an Executive Summary within four working days and the full report the following week enabling the client to exchange and complete the deal rapidly.

Adding value

Even within the confines of the exacting timeframe we were able to provide high level comment on the elements of the business plan for the park, along with providing budget cost advice for other maintenance works in excess of the current service charge expenditure.

Anthony Wardle from George Capital said:
“Speed and confidentiality was critical on this project and involved adhering to a stringent timeline. It was a great team effort by all involved, and we’re grateful to Powell Williams for not only their fast turnaround but expertise and pragmatic advice, which enabled us to get the deal over the line.”