Norton Rose Group advises the Legatum Group on acquisition of building in Dubai International Financial Centre

The 128,000 square feet building, to be renamed Legatum Plaza, is located in one of the core precinct areas of the DIFC and whose tenants include UBS, Nomura and Rothschild. The DIFC is Dubai's financial and business hub which provides a secure and efficient platform for business and financial institutions to reach into and out of the emerging markets of the region.

It is extremely rare for a whole building to be sold in the DIFC and this is an unusual investment deal in the Dubai market generally. The DIFC also operates under a separate legal regime to other parts of Dubai and is based on a mixture of English and Australian law which added complexity to this transaction.

Nick Clayson, Head of real estate for the Middle East at Norton Rose Group commented: "We were delighted to work with Legatum on this rare investment deal on a premium real estate asset in the Middle East. This acquisition shows the continued upturn in the Dubai market for institutional quality buildings and demonstrates that there are valuable assets here for the right investors".

Mark Stoleson, CEO, the Legatum Group, said, "This acquisition of Building 6 will provide Legatum with a new global headquarters in the finest location in Dubai's Central Business District, which is increasingly recognised as a leading international financial centre, connecting East with West."

The Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP team was led by Nick Clayson, partner and Head of real estate in the Middle East supported by Hannah Thomas, Louise Lynch and Henrietta Worthington working with Robert Vickers, In-House Counsel at Legatum.

The real estate team at Norton Rose (Middle East) LLP is consistently ranked band one in legal directories and is highly regarded within the region and globally. They frequently act for leading corporates such as Mubadala and Abraaj Capital and global financial institutions such as Credit Suisse.

Al Tamimi advised the seller.