DLA Piper and White & Case have landed the headline roles on British Land's £161m sale of a Midlands business park to Doughty Hanson and US real estate investment trust Liberty Property Trust.

The deal, which closed last month, saw DLA Piper advise British Land on its disposal of the 257-acre Blythe Valley Park in Solihull.

The transatlantic giant landed the role ahead of other regular British Land advisers on the back of an existing relationship between the company and real estate chief David Taylor, who has advised it for more than two decades.

Taylor, who joined DLA Piper in 2004 from Herbert Smith, took the lead role with support from senior associate Karen Halsey.

The deal is the top 10 UK law firm's latest mandate for British Land after it advised on its multimillion-pound purchase of Birmingham's Natwest Tower earlier this year.

Meanwhile, White & Case is acting for joint buyers Liberty and the real estate arm of UK private equity house Doughty Hanson – a regular client of the US firm's property practice.

White & Case fielded a team headed by London real estate partner David Cox, including corporate partner Ashley Ballard and real estate partner Lorraine Ufland.

The business park currently boasts 500,000 sq ft of office space with a further 1.5 million sq ft earmarked for additional offices after receiving planning permission from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.



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