Surplus Property Solutions, a specialist manager of leasehold liabilities, announces that it has secured a contract to manage out a significant surplus leasehold property portfolio on behalf of Carillion plc, the leading support services business with annual revenue of over £5 billion.
Under the contract, the risk and responsibilities for the ongoing financial and operational burdens, arising from a nationwide portfolio of leased offices comprising some 330,000 ft² (approx. 30,000 m²), will be transferred from Carillion to SPS.
Commenting on the transaction, Adam Foster, Principal of SPS, said: "To date few companies have taken this route of outsourcing their surplus leased properties, but I am sure there will be an increasing number, both public and private, that will recognize that this sort of deal can provide great benefits, both financial, particularly in terms of their balance sheet, and administrative."
Andrew Thexton-Pee of Carillion, said: "This deal with SPS has, in a single transaction, enabled us to refocus our resources on our operational estate. We found SPS had exactly the right approach and experience to do the deal."
Kevin Vickers, Corporate Finance Partner for Cushman & Wakefield in Europe, commented: "This completes the market's third liability-only transfer in the last 20 months. The market continues to evolve and we are now seeing unprecedented levels of activity with further transactions expected in 2012."
Cushman & Wakefield acted for Carillion and Jones Lang LaSalle acted for SPS.
Lawyers acting for Carillion were Ashurst and MacRoberts and for SPS were Berwin Leighton Paisner and Brodies LLP.
Source: Tavistock Communications
