News: Powell Williams advises on £35.6m landmark office acquisition for CCLA

CCLA, one of the UK’s largest charity fund managers, has purchased One Park Row in Leeds for £35.6m from Evans Property Group.

Powell Williams provided the technical due diligence for the 79,124 sq ft acquisition, one of the city’s largest deals this year. The acquisition was made by CCLA on behalf of the Local Authorities’ Property Fund, which it manages.

Location, location, location

One of the highest profile office buildings in Leeds, the Grade A One Park Row occupies a prime location overlooking City Square and is within 100m of Leeds Rail station. The nine-storey building is let entirely to international law firm Pinsent Mansons LLP. It has a large roof terrace and two floors of basement car parking with 70 spaces.

Key advice

As part of our technical due diligence, Powell Williams managed the input of all other consultants involved. The instruction required our expert and specialist knowledge of the commercial office sector. Reports were delivered within a very robust time frame, allowing the client to assess the existing condition of the property, and the likely extent of future foreseeable works, and enabled the purchase contract to be exchanged expediently.

Roy Halliday, Property Fund Manager at CCLA said:
“As an investor for charities, we seek assets which provide minimal risk and which offer opportunity for an excellent return. Similarly in our choice of consultants we look for a safe pair of hands with the experience to ensure we can purchase the building with confidence. We found, in Powell Williams, a wealth of expertise and a level of excellence which impressed. Their speed of response, attention to detail and commercial approach of their advice was instrumental in the swift culmination of this acquisition.”