Leading regional law firm, Howes Percival, has acted on a trio of property deals for clients in academia, science and technology sectors.
The firm is acting for Girton College on the development and leasing of Swirles Court – a purpose-built graduate complex and the first completed accommodation development on the new North West Cambridge Development. Known as Eddington, this visionary £350 million urban-academic community is being delivered by the University of Cambridge.
Swirles Court offers some of the most sustainable, state-of-the-art student accommodation in Cambridge. With a total construction value of £26 million, Swirles Court sits at the heart of Eddington and contains 325 en-suite rooms purpose-built for students, with a wide range of state of the art facilities for the College’s growing graduate community.
Michaela Henson of Howes Percival, said: “We are delighted to be acting for Girton College on such an exciting project. Girton is the first Cambridge College to establish a base in Eddington, leading the way for the growth of this new community by linking both graduate and undergraduate students with the wider pool of City talent, including post-doctoral researchers and University key workers. This is a fine example of how the established institutions of Cambridge are finding innovative ways to interact with the commercial city to create a vibrant future.”
Howes Percival is also advising on life sciences giant, Abcam’s move to new, state-of-the-art headquarters based in Cambridge’s Biomedical Campus. The new site is almost double the size of its existing facilities which will combine into one, purpose-built premises spanning approximately 100,000 sq. ft. of office and laboratory space.
In the wider Cambridgeshire area, Howes Percival’s property team recently assisted in a planning application for live-food wholesaler, Monkfield Nutrition. Having outgrown its existing facilities, the company is moving to a brand new, purpose-built premises in Mepal which provided a significant increase in space for insect production, life reptiles, freezers and state-of-the-art warehousing.
Jonathan Greenhalgh, partner and head of the Cambridge office, commented; “Cambridge is a hub for innovation and the city has a reputation for attracting world-class businesses. Since entering the Cambridge legal market in early 2015, we have established ourselves as a major player – with one of the strongest property teams in the city.”
