Nabarro and Wragge & Co have landed key roles in a deal that saw Hammerson buy a £65m stake in a south London shopping mall. 

Nabarro advised UK property developer Hammerson on its acquisition of the 25% stake in Croydon's Whitgift Centre from fund manager Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), in a move to beat retail rival Westfield to securing the full rights to control the site, which is earmarked for redevelopment. 

Real estate partner Simon Staite led the Nabarro team advising long-standing client Hammerson, working alongside real estate partners Rob Raimes and James Madden.

Wragges advised RLAM with the national firm fielding a team led by head of real estate litigation Anne Waltham and real estate partner Peter Thorne.

Hammerson and Westfield are battling to control the site, with Legal Week reporting last November that Ashurst was advising Australia's Westfield in connection with its bid for the site to develop its third London shopping mall, alongside its existing venues in Shepherd's Bush and Stratford. 

SNR Denton has been advising the Whitgift Foundation, which owns the shopping mall, with London real estate partner Virginia Glastonbury at the helm.

Wider plans have been drawn up to revamp the centre of Croydon over the next few years, including the 1.2m sq ft area around the 40-year-old Whitgift centre.

Nabarro recently advised on Hammerson's £518m sale of its London commercial property portfolio to Canadian investor Brookfield in June, alongside Herbert Smith, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Clifford Chance – all of which are on its property panel.

Nabarro acted on the individual sale of EC3′s Leadenhall Court, with Staite heading up the team.