Dentons has advised Southampton City Council on the procurement of a development partner and the signing of a development agreement for the £400 million development of the Royal Pier Waterfront. The parties to the agreement include the three main landowners, the council, Associated British Ports and The Crown Estate Commissioners, and RPW (Southampton) Limited (a joint venture company owned by the selected development partner Morgan Sindall Investments Limited (MSIL) and their funders The Lucent Group (Lucent)). Dentons also advised the council on the contractual joint venture between the landowners and other associated documentation.
Royal Pier is one of Southampton City Council’s seven VIP Projects identified within the City Centre Master Plan. The project includes over 6,000 new jobs, over 500 homes, a hotel, and an enlarged Mayflower Park to provide a permanent home for Southampton International Boat Show. The development, which will be carried out over a number of years, will transform the waterfront and help to underpin the city’s future growth and prosperity.
Councillor Matt Tucker, Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Leisure Services at Southampton City Council, said: “This is a major milestone towards the future development of this important site. Dentons has guided us seamlessly through every step of this process so far and we look forward to working with them to take this project to the next level.”
The Dentons team was led by real estate partner Richard Budge and included Gillian Goldsworthy, senior associate in real estate, Roy Pinnock, senior associate in planning, and Mark Bassett, senior associate in government. Eversheds acted for Morgan Sindall/Lucent, Bond Dickinson’s Southampton office acted for Associated British Ports and Bond Dickinson’s Plymouth office acted for The Crown Estate.
