A property estate worth �15m has been sold off as part of a complex court case involving a pair of divorcing professional landlords.

The portfolio of 25 buildings was spread across four London boroughs and included both residential and commercial properties. The portfolio included a series of complex guaranteed rent agreements, some of which fell within the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 and others which were covered by more recent laws to protect an occupying residential tenant subject to an AST.

Winkworth'�s developments and commercial investments division worked with family law firm Vardags to provide assessments and recommendations so that the portfolio could be presented to the open market, to attract investors and allow for third-party funding.

The freehold properties in Haringey, Barnet, Enfield and Hackney comprised of mainly mixed-use commercial and residential buildings, totalling up to 32,000sq ft.

Divorce proceedings

The divorce proceedings in the Central Family Court took four years, with the sales negotiations concluded in nine months, according to Adam Stackhouse (pictured), head of developments and commercial investments at Winkworth, who says the disposal was highly complex and required the team to use bespoke and dynamic assessment methods.

'We were then able to engage with an audience of established, specialist portfolio investors across north London with several key property companies engaging in a process of informal tender,'� he explains. 'Once a sale was agreed, contracts were exchanged in two weeks with completion in a further two weeks. 

'The portfolio was valued in excess of �15 million with a number of asset management opportunities revealing themselves for future strategic advantage to the purchasers.'�