Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) and Allen & Overy (A&O) have taken the top roles on a £1bn sale and leaseback agreement for Tesco.

The deal, valued at £958m in total, saw BLP advise regular client Tesco on the transaction, which covers 41 of the supermarket's UK stores.

A&O acted for banking clients Goldman Sachs and HSBC, which were the lead managers and joint lead arrangers on the deal.

The property securitisation deal was the latest phase of Tesco's ongoing programme to release value from its UK property portfolio, which has seen both A&O and BLP win mandates in the past.

BLP City-based corporate partner David Robins led for Tesco while A&O put together a team led by real estate finance partners Christian Lambie and Arthur Dyson. City tax partner Mark Brailsford also advised.

The deal was structured as a 50-50 joint venture with Tesco Pension Fund Trustees. It is being primarily funded by fixed rate notes issued by Tesco Property Finance 3.

Lambie commented: "[The deal] shows there is still a strong appetite for structured debt in the commercial real estate sector. This is a benchmark deal where the underlying credit of the tenant is the real strength of the investment."

Tesco said it will use the proceeds to help fund new property development projects in the UK and international markets as part of its international growth strategy.

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