Leslie Wolfson acts in £48m sale of Scottish ministers’ building

Glasgow-based commercial law firm Leslie Wolfson has acted in the £48.3 million sale of a headquarters office building in West Edinburgh, occupied by NHS National Services Scotland.

The boutique firm acted on behalf of Manchester-based private clients in the sale of the headquarters office building, fully let to the Scottish ministers until June 2029. The disposal of this Grade A accommodation at a price of £48.3m represented a net initial yield of 5.76 per cent after purchasers’ costs.

Howard Beach, senior partner, said: “This significant investment of Middle Eastern funds into the Edinburgh office market, in the run up to the UK referendum, demonstrates the continued appetite of foreign funds to invest in quality assets with long-term secure income and is further evidence of the UK’s appeal on the worldwide stage. We have, more recently, seen evidence of private equity investment in Scotland at a time when many Funds’ nervousness over the Scottish political situation is creating a clearer path for those who view this as a time of opportunity.”

In the past 12 months Leslie Wolfson has acted on a number of other deals including the sale, for a Helical plc-led joint venture, of the Clyde Shopping Centre in Clydebank for £68m; advising Tapi Carpets on the rollout of their Scottish expansion programme; the acquisition, under a management agreement, of the Quartermile Car Park in Edinburgh for retained clients, Q-Park; as well as ongoing property work for established clients such as Leeds-based Town Centre Securities plc, London-based Danobe Securities, Handelsbanken, Game and Beaverbrooks the Jewellers.