£59.5m deal completes as Shoosmiths supports Sigma’s single-family strategy

Shoosmiths advised Sigma Capital Group on a £59.5m acquisition from Avant Homes.

The law firm’s real estate team acted on the deal that involved Sigma purchasing 306 new homes across eight of Avant’s developments in the North East of England, Yorkshire and East Midlands.

Avant will hand over the completed homes to Sigma on each of the developments, with Sigma set to take the homes to market under its private rental brand, Simple Life.

Shoosmiths advised on the real estate and planning matters for the transaction, including in respect of the borrowing obtained for the purchases from Nuveen. It follows having acted for Sigma earlier in 2023 on the property and planning aspects of its re-finance of 1,100 build to rent units over 10 residential estates for £102m of fixed rate debt for 15 years with LGIM, as well as numerous other acquisitions of multiple units within single estates through 2023.

Leading the law firm’s deal team was real estate partner Lyndsey O'Connor, supported by Simon Dawes, Rachel Munro, Will Sanderson, Anna Lowe, Morven Pinkerton as well as planning lawyers, Geraint Hughes, Alex Jones and Kayleigh Chapman.

Lyndsey O'Connor, real estate partner at Shoosmiths, said:

“This latest acquisition sees Sigma add over 300 high-quality new homes to its single-family portfolio. It was a large, multi-site deal that demonstrates the power of partnership working in the living sector – a model that Shoosmiths continues to examine closely, most recently holding a roundtable attended by Sigma and other industry leaders to discuss its long-term potential.

“We’re proud to have acted on this transaction, while assisting Sigma in delivering on its commercial strategy and aim to provide a flexible, professional approach to renting across the UK.”

Laura Pitcher, legal counsel at Sigma Capital Group, added:

“Sigma were delighted to complete this significant transaction with trusted partner Avant Homes. The support from the Shoosmiths team throughout was fantastic. Shoosmiths provided exceptional service and its help and expertise, combined with its friendly, proactive and pragmatic commercial approach to the matter, was hugely appreciated by Sigma.”