Geldards Public Sector Team advises Burnley Borough Council on multi-million-pound shopping centre purchase

Geldards has successfully advised Burnley Borough Council on the multi-million-pound acquisition of the town’s Charter Walk Shopping Centre.

Colleagues from Geldards Public Sector team together with the Council’s in-house team and their advisors, were involved in the complicated purchase, which was completed on 20 October after a brief but intense period of negotiation.

The Council says the purchase of the 280,000 square foot open-air community shopping centre, which houses national retailers including Next, Primark, Boots, Wilko and Home Bargains, will help secure the long-term future of the town centre.

Tiffany Cloynes, the Partner who heads Geldards’ Public Sector Team in England, led on the deal to which Geldards were appointed pursuant to the North West Legal Consortium.

She said: “This was a complicated transaction with lots of different elements that had to be taken into account, effectively managed and promptly dealt with, including the interests of over 60 ongoing tenants in Charter Walk.

Solicitors from across the Firm worked tirelessly to support Burnley Borough Council and the wider team through this process.

To have brought the deal to a successful conclusion for the Council in such a tight timeframe is an excellent achievement and a testament to the hard work and diligence of the Geldards team.”

Burnley Council’s Chief Operating Officer, Lukman Patel said: “Ownership of strategic assets is crucial to deliver the Council’s regeneration ambitions.  The support received from our professional advisors Knight Frank, Geldards and Praxis was invaluable to secure the Charter Walk Shopping Centre speedily amid the strong interest from other investors”

Geldards will now have an ongoing role providing legal advice to the Council regarding the future management of the Shopping Centre.