Ashurst and Richards Butler have grabbed the lead roles on the £400m sale of London's iconic Battersea Power Station.

The deal, announced on 30 November, will see the landmark building sold by Oriental Property to Real Estate Opportunities (REO).

Ashurst is advising regular client REO, a fund controlled by the Dublin-based Treasury Holdings Group. Corporate partner Nigel Stacey and European real estate chief Simon Cookson are leading the team.

The deal is the biggest investment in UK real estate that REO has made. The fund owns property in China and Russia as well as the UK and Ireland.

Richards Butler is acting for Oriental on the sale of the 38-acre site, which is expected to be regenerated by REO with homes and shops. Richards Butler partner Richard Nicoll is advising on real estate issues while solicitor Michael Young is dealing with corporate issues relating to the deal.

REO is paying £250m cash in the deal with part of the acquisition financed by a loan from Bank of Scotland. DLA Piper banking partners John Cutler and Helen Dyer are advising Bank of Scotland.

Battersea, designed by architect Sir Giles Gilbert-Scott, has been derelict for more than 20 years as various development plans have failed to get off the ground.

Cookson told Legal Week: "It is a great deal to be involved with. There were a lot of issues to deal with and we are very pleased to be working for the client on what is a tremendous development opportunity."