A ground breaking transaction has seen the residents of a retirement village purchase their village from administrators.
The property team at Charles Russell LLP has successfully advised the retired residents of Crystal Fountain Village in the deal which saw the owners of 54 properties purchase their village, neighbouring land and a derelict pub from the administrators.
The village is believed to be the first and only retirement village owned and controlled by its resident.
Charles Russell started advising the residents in February 2012 to work on the corporate and leasehold structure for the residents’ acquisition of the freehold, management of the village and leasehold interest.
This involved a complex interplay between corporate, landlord and tenant, insolvency and financial services law.
Peter Wilson, Chairman of the Residents Association, said: “We are delighted with the outcome as it provides us with security and control over our living arrangements.
“This purchase is largely due to the determination of our residents association, as, instead of accepting our fate, we worked together to change our situation.
“We owe a great deal of thanks to Nigel Morton and his team at Charles Russell for their tireless work in structuring the transaction.”
The Charles Russell team was led by Nigel Morton, with assistance from Francis Rundall, Julie Sharpe, Edward Robinson and Nancy Battell in the Cheltenham Office.
