Herbert Smith and SJ Berwin have landed lead roles on the Co-operative Insurance Society’s (Co-op’s) outsourcing of its £2.5bn property portfolio to AXA Real Estate Investment Managers UK.

At the end of last year, Co-op decided to outsource its property and equity portfolios, initially instructing DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary’s Manchester office on the real estate portfolio and Herbert Smith on the equity side.