Prudential investment arm M&G Real Estate has finalised its external legal panel with places going to Hogan Lovells, Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG), and CMS Cameron McKenna following a tender process.
The panel review for M&G, which holds £22.5bn of assets under management, was conducted by its head of legal, Chris Brierley.
Hogan Lovells is a longstanding adviser to M&G, and this year was shortlisted for real estate team of the year at the Legal Business Awards for its work on M&G’s acquisition from EY as administrators of 500,000 square feet of prime Manchester office space. The deal involved the purchase of two properties, on behalf of two separate funds for over £300m and was one of the largest ever regional office deals in the UK.
Other recent transactions Hogan Lovells advised M&G on include the property investor’s £55 million acquisition of The London Fruit & Wool Exchange building in London’s Spitalfields earlier this year, the purchase of 375,000 square feet of office space in Madrid’s central business district for £125 million and M&G’s acquisition of WLG’s Birmingham headquarters for £140m in September last year.
CMS has also worked with M&G in the past, having been instructed for an asset swap deal in relation to the Friary Guildford Shopping centre in 2013.
Brierley’s panel exercise was part of Prudential’s tender of its own legal roster that has seen some of the leading Global 100 firms compete for places.
Last assessed in 2011, firms including Linklaters, Baker & McKenzie, and legacy Norton Rose won spots after a five-month competitive tender led by Prudential’s former group general counsel Margaret Coltman.
Coltman has since retired from her role within the business and is succeeded by company secretary Alan Porter who is understood to be reviewing the final panel.
Other recent panel reviews saw Ashurst, RPC, Shoosmiths, and Lewis Silkin retain places on Coca-Cola Enterprises UK legal panel, with the drinks company selecting Devereux Chambers as its preferred barristers set ahead of a review of its internal legal function.
sarah.downey@legalease.co.uk
