Shoosmiths’ real estate investment group marked a record financial year — advising on £1.5bn of transactions across sectors and shaping some of the UK’s most significant deals. That momentum has continued into H1 2025. Group co-heads Kate McCall and Nathan Rees reflect on the year’s highlights, share market insights, and explore today’s evolving investment landscape.
“Reflecting on the year gone by, I can see what we’ve accomplished. I can see it in the market, I can see the headlines and I can say that was us; we were involved in that.”
For Kate McCall, partner and co‑head of Shoosmiths’ real estate investment group, this has been the ultimate marker of success: seeing landmark transactions come to fruition and knowing Shoosmiths’ real estate investment team has played a key role in making them happen.
It follows a breakout financial year for the group, after advising on £1.5bn of transactions across asset classes – including several complex portfolio deals, the creation of a first‑of‑its‑kind £1bn UK-focused industrial and logistics platform, and close collaboration with Shoosmiths’ living sector specialists on residential transactions, such as one of the largest build to rent deals of 2024.
In this video, Kate McCall and Nathan Rees, co‑heads of Shoosmiths’ real estate investment group, reflect on the last financial year, share their perspective on the market and themes shaping investor strategies. They discuss the deals that defined the group’s FY 2024/25, the sectors driving investment activity, and how the team is helping clients unlock value and realise opportunities.
Watch Kate McCall and Nathan Rees reflect on the group’s year and outlook
Continued momentum in H1 2025
The first half of 2025 has seen Shoosmiths’ real estate investment group build on last year’s dealmaking activity, supporting clients through a wave of new transactions. Several have been at larger lot sizes, signalling liquidity in the market and an appetite among investors for scale.
Among the transactions completed so far this year, the group advised on the £99m sale of Festival Place, a 1.1m sq ft shopping centre in Basingstoke. Shoosmiths acted for the seller – instructed by BDO as fixed charge receivers – following assisting a period of focused asset management to enhance value and diversify the centre’s tenant mix before the sale.
The team also advised Custodian Property Income REIT on its £22.1m all‑share acquisition of Merlin Properties, bringing a portfolio of 28 largely industrial assets – 99% let and yielding around 8.1% – into the REIT’s ownership. Another sign of sustained activity and strength in the industrial and logistics real estate market, which led the group’s dealmaking in FY 2024/25.
As part of a complex cross‑border transaction, the firm acted for Kwik Fit on the acquisition of a portfolio of 83 UK properties, which the tyre, MOT, and car servicing retailer currently occupies.
In the living sector, Shoosmiths advised Packaged Living on its first co‑living site acquisition. This was followed by support for BlueCastle Capital on the purchase of Marks & Spencer’s former flagship site in Birmingham, paving the way for hundreds of new build to rent homes. The law firm also advised Torsion Group and Khalbros on their joint venture’s acquisition of the Eastgate Quarter site in Leeds – one of the region’s largest-ever development deals.
The breadth of mandates completed in 2025 so far underscores the group’s role in shaping significant investment activity across UK real estate. As Nathan and Kate reflect in the video:
“When I think about what success looks like, it is Shoosmiths’ real estate investment team being known as one of the key players in the investment market - to be involved in a high-level of deal activity, in deals that are market‑leading and nationally significant.”
Disclaimer
This information is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. It is recommended that specific professional advice is sought before acting on any of the information given. Please contact us for specific advice on your circumstances. © Shoosmiths LLP 2025.