China

The cross-department team brings together a number of lawyers who advise on a wide range of corporate and commercial transactions, real estate transactions, construction and infrastructure projects, dispute resolution and international arbitration matters.

We are experienced in fund raisings on capital markets worldwide and transactions in the M&A, investments and private equity fields. The team handles cases of considerable size and complexity for corporate and individual clients for all forms of commercial dispute resolution, including high court litigation, international and domestic arbitration and mediation.

In addition, our private wealth specialists assist individuals who, through their wealth or family connections, have links to the UK or who are moving to or from the UK and need advice on wealth planning, tax structuring, immigration (including investor and entrepreneur visas), family and matrimonial matters and high value residential real estate.

We also advise English businesses on transactions involving China, where these matters require English legal input or are undertaken under English law. Using our extensive network of local contacts in China, we assist English businesses with their China expansion plans and have successfully acted for English companies on construction projects in Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Wuhan.

Fladgate is a member of the China-Britain Business Council.

• Acting as sole UK legal counsel on the growth of CIMC Developments Limited's modular hotel business in the EMEA region. Having advised the company from start-up, through acquisition by a $60bn+ Chinese company and continuing as part of its business expansion, the client is a model example of our ability to advise from the beginnings of an entrepreneurial business to a full global corporation. Projects on which we have advised include: a 251 bedroom “Hampton by Hilton” at Bristol Airport; five blocks of student accommodation at Newcastle Glassworks; project advisory work concerning a high-profile development site in London’s Royal Docks; contractor-led finance initiatives for a Holiday Inn Express in Docklands; and hotels and student accommodation schemes in Humberside, Manchester and London.
• Advising LCA Capital on their acquisition of Crown International Estates Limited as the SPV owning a development site adjoining London City Airport. In addition to the work on the corporate acquisition we are advising on the property due diligence and post completion condition in preparation for the development of a major branded hotel development on the site.
• Advised Metro Holdings Limited and Top Spring International on their acquisition from the Scarborough Group of 50% of the share capital of Fairbriar Real Estate Limited, the holding company of a joint venture owning two development sites in Manchester, Middlewood Locks and Milliners Wharf Phase Two.
• Advising a Chinese-owned special purpose vehicle on a large solar energy project in Wales in relation to technical due diligence for a sale of shares in the SPV for a consideration of £14m, on related variations to the EPC contract and power purchase arrangements with the local utilities company and advising on an operation and maintenance contract.
• Advised the owner of Aldgate Tower Investments (ATI) on the sale of 100% of the shares in ATI to a joint venture between China Life and Brookfield Property Partners for £346m. ATI was the owner of Aldgate Tower, a 317,000 sq ft office building in Aldgate with a tenant roster including AECOM, Uber, Tag Worldwide, WeWork, the Intellectual Property Office and Ince & Co LLP. Our involvement in this project spanned five years, with the team advising from the acquisition of the site, through construction, letting and to the sale.
• Advising Rockery Han on their expansion plans for this firm of landscape architects and contractors, well-known within China, with a long history in the Chinese tradition. Rockery Han has designed, built, and repaired hundreds of classical landscape gardens in China, most notably the 2008 Beijing Olympic Park.
• Advising Merlin Entertainments Ltd on their global portfolio of hotel and leisure related construction projects for the world’s second largest leisure group, including a new LEGOLAND Discovery Centre in Shanghai and a new Madame Tussauds and a SEA LIFE aquarium both in Chongqing as part of Merlin’s continuing expansion plans in China.
• Advising on the acquisition, construction and engineering contracts for a large engine plant valued at approximately £60m to be built in China.
• Acting for Birke Travel Solutions on various matters relating to their UK business for this specialist Chinese holiday provider.
• Newtree Medical Enviro Holdings Limited: English law aspects of its listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
• Macau Legend Development Ltd: Providing an English law legal opinion in connection with certain due diligence issues connected with the Hong Kong IPO of the company.
• AIM listed Asian Citrus Holdings Limited: English law aspects of its listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
• AIM and HKSE listed Asian Citrus Holdings Limited: English law aspects of a placing agreement with Huge Market Investments Limited, a substantial shareholder, and CLSA and BofA Merrill Lynch, the Joint Placing Agents, to place an aggregate of 95 million existing shares held by Huge Market, representing 12.11% of the existing issued share capital of the Group, with not less than six institutional investors.
• AIM listed LiteBulb Group: Conditional share purchase agreement to acquire Bluwstuff Limited, a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of award winning innovative products, predominantly for the gift and toy markets, together with a proposed issue of up to £1.5m of secured convertible loan notes for expansion capital. Bluwstuff has offices in the UK and in Hong Kong.
• Founding shareholders of The Licensing Company: Sale to Li & Fung, a Hong Kong headquartered and listed, multinational trading group, recognised as the world’s leader in consumer goods, design, development, sourcing and distribution.
• Hong Kong Government and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office London: Advising in connection with their legal requirements in England and Wales.
• London office of ICBC: Various property finance loans in the UK.
• Splendid Hotel Group: Refinancing of their Intercontinental hotel development in Westminster, London with Bank of China providing the new facility in place of Bank of Scotland.