Joel Simon, head of the London office at Paul Hastings Janofsky and Walker, has advised Brack Capital Real Estate (BCRE) on a sale to General Electric Capital of its 84.5% shareholding in commercial property company Haselmere, worth some £156m. BCRE is a consortium comprising Brack Capital, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Apollo Real Estate. Slaughter and May advised General Electric and Freshfields acted for Haselmere.
Ian Martin at Macfarlanes was the lead partner advising venture capital firm Alchemy Partners on its € 149m (£98m) acquisition of UK consumer finance and mortgage group Swift Advances. Swift, which was sold by its founder Dennis Myers, was advised by Martin Lane, head of corporate at Pinsents. Lane was assisted by Gareth Hughes and Hannah Brader. The deal is the latest financial services sector deal for the firm following advice for Smart & Cook on a £57m investment by 3i in March this year.
