REAL estate lawyers at DLA Piper are celebrating one of their busiest ever half- year periods, after finalising deals worth more than £750m.

The team, headed by partner Mark Beardwood, has advised a range of clients both in Merseyside and across the North-West.

They included local authorities, pension funds and universities.

Liverpool-based Mr Beardwood said: “There’s no doubt it’s a tough market but there’s still plenty of activity, which the recent work we’ve completed reflects.

“We finished 2009 on a high, completing the sale of Manchester Fort Shopping Park to Henderson Global Investors just before the end of the year.

“It was an exceptional job. It completed within two weeks of initial instruction, and involved a number of different departments due to the complicated nature of the transaction.”

The team also completed one of the biggest commercial property deals of 2009 – the £196m purchase of the Equition Industrial Portfolio, comprising 2.9m sq ft of space.

The deal was worked on by 27 people.

Mr Beardwood added: “It is difficult to call the market, but we expect 2010 to be another busy year.”

The team also advised on the sale of Cheshire County Hall to Chester University for £10m and deals for NHS Bolton.