Instructions of the week - 22.05.2003

Beachcroft Wansbroughs and DLA have been appointed by CIT Group to manage the legal work for the portfolio of 11 shopping centres it bought for 325 million earlier this year.

Beachcrofts will deal with five of the centres (representing half of the portfolio in terms of the number of shops) and DLA the rest.

US/UK firm Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw has completed its first deal for SBC International, acting on SBC's acquisition of the Warner Village cinema group.

The purchase increases SBC's chain of multiplexes from six to 42.

They will be rebranded 'Vue' cinemas.

Warner Village was advised by Olswang, with Forsters handling property matters.

Travers Smith Braithwaite acted for management and Lovells for the banks, and Ashurst Morris Crisp and Macfarlanes for equity capital providers.

Newly merged firm Addleshaw Goddard has added Football DataCo to its list of sports clients.

Football DataCo is jointly owned by the Premier League and Football League to commercialise and protect certain intellectual property rights, including fixture lists.

It also acts as an agent for the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League.

South-east firm Thomas Eggar has joined the panel of legal advisers to title insurer First Title, and will undertake title investigation and due diligence of properties.

City firm Nicholson Graham & Jones has picked up the recently established UK division of GMAC Commercial Mortgages as a new client.

GMAC is ultimately a subsidiary of General Motors.

The firm acted for the company on an investment/development facility to Portfolio Holdings, part of the Apollo Real Estate Group, advised by Nabarro Nathanson.

East Anglian firm Mills & Reeve has been reappointed as legal adviser to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education following a competitive tender.

The agency's role is to provide a quality assurance service for higher education institutions throughout the UK.

In Newcastle, Ward Hadaway beat off competition from Watson Burton to secure the contract to advise Pensher Security Doors, which trades as Pensher Skytech.

Pensher provides architectural, security glazing and door systems to a range of markets, including the military, offshore and marine, and social housing sectors.