Roland Smyth

Led by Roland Smyth, the head of the team, and Amy Norton, a partner in the firm’s Scottish real estate team, CMS was a key adviser in the winning transaction which involved the letting of a pioneering new hotel and hospitality school being built within the £350m Haymarket Edinburgh development.

The development will include an upper-upscale Hyatt Centric Hotel, which will become the city’s biggest hotel when completed, to be operated by the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) under a franchise agreement with Hyatt. As well as providing additional hotel capacity for visiting EICC delegates, the new hotel and hospitality school will create new jobs delivering economic benefits for Scotland’s capital. The development also forms an important part of the overall regeneration of one of Edinburgh’s last remaining city centre gap sites and will ensure the EICC remains at the forefront of Scotland’s business tourism offering.

CMS acted for The City of Edinburgh Council, which will take a 25-year lease of the hotel and hotel school which it will sub-lease to the EICC. CMS managed all legal aspects of the transaction including negotiation and agreement of the lease and sub-lease. The firm’s team reviewed the title and franchise agreement documentation, and also acted for the Council on the construction, planning, public procurement, employment and corporate aspects involved in the deal.

Mr Smyth said: “CMS’s Scottish Hotels & Leisure Team is delighted for our client, The City of Edinburgh Council, for its success in receiving this award alongside M&G Real Estate, Qmile Group and Hyatt Hotels. This was an innovative deal which delivers major economic benefits for Scotland. The new Hyatt Hotel and its accompanying hospitality school will create a significant number of new jobs within Edinburgh and further raise the city’s standing as a leading international conference venue.”

The Scottish Property Awards were held on 23 February, at Edinburgh’s EICC.