International legal practice Norton Rose (Middle East) said it had advised Legatum Group via its subsidiary Tholos Realty Limited for the acquisition of Precinct Building 6 in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

The 128,000 sq ft building, to be renamed Legatum Plaza, is located in one of the core precinct areas of the DIFC and whose tenants include UBS, Nomura and Rothschild.

The DIFC is Dubai’s financial and business hub which provides a secure and efficient platform for business and financial institutions to reach into and out of the emerging markets of the region.

Norton Rose said it was extremely rare for a whole building to be sold in the DIFC and this was an unusual investment deal in the Dubai market generally.

The DIFC also operates under a separate legal regime to other parts of Dubai and is based on a mixture of English and Australian law which added complexity to this transaction, it added.

Nick Clayson, the head of real estate for the Middle East at Norton Rose said, 'We are delighted to work with Legatum on this rare investment deal on a premium real estate asset in the Middle East.'

Clayson had led the Norton Rose (Middle East) team comprising Hannah Thomas, Louise Lynch and Henrietta Worthington for the transaction along with Robert Vickers, the in-house counsel at Legatum.

'This acquisition shows the continued upturn in the Dubai market for institutional quality buildings and demonstrates that there are valuable assets here for the right investors,' said Clayson.

Legatum Group CEO Mark Stoleson said, “This acquisition of Building 6 will provide us with a new global headquarters in the finest location in Dubai’s Central Business District, which is increasingly recognised as a leading international financial centre, connecting East with West.'

The real estate team at Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP is consistently ranked band one in legal directories and is highly regarded within the region and globally.

They frequently act for leading corporates such as Mubadala and Abraaj Capital and global financial institutions such as Credit Suisse.-TradeArabia News Service