Waterman Advises Hammerson on Grand Central

WATERMAN ADVISES HAMMERSON ON ITS £335M ACQUISITION

OF GRAND CENTRAL SHOPPING CENTRE IN BIRMINGHAM

Waterman Group plc ("Waterman" or "the Group"), the engineering and environmental consultant, provided engineering and environmental due diligence studies for the £335 million acquisition by Hammerson Plc of the prestigious Grand Central in the heart of Birmingham.

The exchange of contracts with Birmingham City Council was announced by Hammerson on Friday. The Grand Central shopping centre, which took five years to complete, opened in September 2015. The centre provides 435,000 sq ft of high-quality prime retail space with 66 news shops, department stores - including the largest John Lewis store outside of London at 250,000 sq ft - fashion retailers, restaurants, and a multi-storey car park. The scheme was developed by Network Rail and Birmingham City Council as part of the £750 million New Street Station regeneration project.

This latest announcement follows Waterman's advice to Hammerson Plc and Allianz Real Estate on their recent EUR 1.85bn (£1.34bn) acquisition of a portfolio of market-leading retail assets in Dublin from Ireland's National Asset Management Agency ("NAMA").

Nick Taylor, Chief Executive of Waterman commented,

" We are delighted to be involved in advising Hammerson on the acquisition of this major development which is transforming Birmingham into a city of regional and national importance.

" This reinforces our forty year relationship with Hammerson and we are confident that this will lead to further opportunities. We have a range of major long-standing real estate clients, with whom we have enjoyed long and fruitful relationships."

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Date: 25th January 2016

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