We have advised Barnet Council (the "Council") on the provision of £100 million of mezzanine development funding to Related Argent Property Limited Partnership.

The loan has been provided in the context of the Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration scheme, which is the biggest redevelopment and growth programme Barnet has ever undertaken.

The Brent Cross Cricklewood regeneration will see a new park town development, Brent Cross Town, which will be set around 50 acres of green spaces and playing fields.

Brent Cross Town will include c. 6,700 new homes, as well as commercial and retail spaces, arts and culture facilities, and improved schools and healthcare facilities.

The newly opened Brent Cross West station, delivered by the Council and opened in December 2023, will link the new town centre and existing communities, to central London (Kings Cross c.12 minutes).

The Council funding will support development of the first phase of the Station Quarter business district by part-funding the construction of Plot 1, which is a new office/flexible workspace building next to Brent Cross West station, providing a total of 240,000 sq.ft. on 12 floors.

Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) has already agreed to take the lower six floors at Plot 1 for its new London campus, which is scheduled to open for the 2026/27 academic year. SHU's London campus will deliver long-term economic and social benefits to the borough, and the current aim is for courses to accommodate up to 5,000 students by 2030.

The Council referred the proposed loan to the Subsidy Advice Unit (the SAU) at the Competition and Markets Authority in accordance with its obligations under the Subsidy Control Act 2022. This enabled the SAU to publish a report addressing the funding, after which the Council was able to provide the loan and thereby support the Plot 1 development and first phase of the Station Quarter business district.

Gowling WLG's cross-disciplinary legal team advising the Council included partner Kate Cunningham (Real Estate), partner Gurinder Mann (Real Estate Finance), and partner Samuel Beighton (Subsidy Control), with team members also working closely with CBRE (advisors to the Council) in relation to referring the loan to the SAU.

Gowling WLG has dedicated development and regeneration teams, and acts for a wide range of developers, funders, and public authorities. The broad spectrum of asset classes we deal with means our expertise advising on residential, mixed-use schemes, and regeneration sites is unparalleled. For further information, visit our Real Estate page.