SJ Berwin and Linklaters have taken lead roles as Westfield has moved to sell £55m worth of assets in the north of England in order to focus on high-scale shopping ventures.

Westfield has sold the 75% stake it held in the Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham to Capital Shopping Centres in a deal that also saw Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe take premium roles.

SJ Berwin acted for Westfield on the corporate and property side, led by City partners Michael Goldberg and Pat Jones respectively. Freshfields advised Westfield on tax and employment matters, led by tax partner Colin Hargreaves and employment associate 
Holly Insley.

Linklaters, meanwhile, advised Capital Shopping Centres in the lead M&A role, fielding a team under City corporate partner William Buckley. Orrick's London arm provided real estate advice, with London head Anne O'Neill heading the team.

The sale is subject to consent from Westfield's Broadmarsh joint venture partner Possfund, the Post Office pension fund.

Broadmarsh was the Australian shopping centre group's first acquisition in the UK in 2000, with the retail giant stating that its decision to sell the stake reflects an increased emphasis on investment in larger ventures like Westfield London in Shepherd's Bush and the newly-opened mega mall in Stratford.

Goldberg said: "There is a reasonable amount of activity in the corporate real estate sphere, despite the poor market conditions. This is across a number of sectors, including office, retail and logistics."

There are not large volumes of work but there are some interesting deals."