Womble Bond Dickinson advises US partner with first ever UK acquisition

Law firm Womble Bond Dickinson has advised longstanding US client National Corporate Housing (National) on its first UK acquisition.

The firm’s Newcastle-based corporate and real estate teams worked on the acquisition alongside US partners Dan Mackesey and Tom Sawyer.

National is targeting significant growth in the UK and has set aside £20m to invest in leasing properties in London over the next three years.

Iain Pritty, legal director in WBD’s corporate team, said: “This transaction represents another success story for our transatlantic combination and also how longstanding client relationships have a positive impact on the firm.

“It was a delight to work with National Corporate Housing, and we look forward to continuing to work with our US colleagues in order to support our clients both locally and internationally.”

National is one of America’s largest temporary furnished accommodation specialists, with offices in 27 cities across the US and corporate housing throughout the US, Canada, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

The organisation has completed its acquisition of the entire share capital of Waterside Apartments Limited (Waterside).

The transaction was structured in two tranches - the first tranche completed in 2018 - to enable National to understand Waterside’s business. The UK team at WBD were led by Iain Pritty, supported by Nigel Emmerson, David Ridley and Gemma Bourne.

Waterside trade as West London Services Apartments offering corporate housing and serviced apartments to various blue-chip business travellers, relocation agents and booking agents in the Chiswick, Ealing, Brentford, Kew and Uxbridge areas of London.

Kregg Anderson, chief financial officer of National, added: “It was a pleasure working with Iain and the WBD team on this transaction. We have a long-standing relationship with WBD domestically, and this was our first acquisition in the UK.

“WBD acted as a critical guide through local laws and practices, and made sure we were we were prepared to operate our business in a foreign jurisdiction… We look forward to working with the WBD UK team on many more transactions.”