Herbert Smith and Linklaters have taken lead roles on the £480m acquisition of Merrill Lynch's London headquarters (HQ).

Linklaters advised Merrill, which simultaneously leased back the buildings, while Herbert Smith acted for the buyer, Singapore's Government Investment Corporation (GIC).

Real estate head Iain Rothnie led Herbert Smith, assisted by a team including partners Mark Geday (corporate) and Neil Warriner (tax). It is Herbert Smith's second substantial instruction for GIC after the firm advised the company on its acquisition of a stake in Bluewater shopping centre several years ago.

Linklaters fielded a team led by real estate partner Julian Innes-Taylor and corporate partner Olivia McKendrick.

The deal comes less than two months after Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance advised on the £1.09bn sale and leaseback of HSBC's Canary Wharf HQ.

Rothnie told Legal Week: "It is part of a bigger trend. HSBC sold its building in Canary Wharf and this was a similar deal. Banks are looking at the costs of their assets and are trying to get capital out of them. What made the deal interesting was that Merrill wanted to keep full flexibility of the building even though it had sold it."

Innes-Taylor added: "It brings our involvement with the building full circle – we originally purchased the former Post Office building in 1997 and oversaw the development and construction to fulfil Merrill Lynch's requirements for a state-of-the-art HQ."

Merrill's European HQ is made up of four buildings covering 550,000 sq ft, including two of the biggest trading floors in Europe. The initial leaseback is for 15 years with extensive renewal rights.