Olswang and Taylor Wessing have lined up to advise on the £160m sale of St Katharine's Docks in central London to Max Property Group and a South African family trust.

Olswang advised real estate fund manager F&C REIT on its sale of St Katharine's Estate, which extends over 22 acres near Tower Bridge (pictured) and includes offices, housing, shops and restaurants in addition to the marina.

Real estate partner Simon Kanter led the team for Olswang, working alongside corporate partner David Bunker and tax partner Natasha Kaye.

Taylor Wessing advised Max Property Group and joint venture partner the South African family trust in relation to the acquisition, with real estate partner Alan Evans leading a team which also included partners Richard Grosse (real estate) and Jayne Schnider (corporate).

Kanter said: "The deal is evidence that there are specific buyers looking for specific properties and clearly St Katharine's Estate was suitable for Max Property's plans, but I'm not sure this is a sign of the real estate market coming back.

"I think people are much more focussed now on the type of property they are looking to invest in. It is feast or famine at the moment and we are just seeing pockets of activity in certain specific opportunities."

F&C REIT is a long-standing client of Kanter, who advised legacy company REIT on its original acquisition of St Katharine's Estate in 2004, prior to joining Olswang in 2006, when Olswang took over his previous firm Kanter Jules.