Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co has advised Solihull Council on the UK's largest regeneration scheme outside London.

A specialist team led by director of regeneration, Stephen Sellers, acted on the £1.8 billion project for a 16,000-home area in the north of the borough.

The council has signed a 15-year regeneration partnership with housebuilder Bellway Homes, social landlord Whitefriars Housing Group and regeneration specialists Inpartnerships.

The strategic plan proposes demolishing 4,500 homes and creating a mixed-use development comprising 8,500 new properties, 13 primary schools, five community hubs or village centres and local shops.

The private sector partners expect to invest £1.2 billion over the life of the project alongside £600 million of public sector money. The first planning application has been approved.

The Wragge & Co team included real estate and public sector experts Jacqueline Knox, Clare Regan and Sarah Punshon.

Wragge & Co is also acting for the council in connection with its Building Schools for the Future project.

Mr Sellers said: "This is a public/private sector partnership which is at the leading edge of thinking in how to change large council estates radically.

"It is not just about the decent homes agenda but the wider range of services which communities need, hence the importance of schools and village centres to the overall project. There were a number of challenging tax, commercial and public law issues, and we had the expertise and experience needed to deal with them quickly."

Julian Wain, strategic director of physical and economic regeneration at the council, said: "This is a major project and of huge importance to the borough."

Wragge has completed its first corporate deal for global logistics company DHL.

A cross-firm team led by partner Stuart Young advised DHL Freight & Contract Logistics on the £21.5 million sale of Fuelserv and its six European subsidiaries to Retail Decisions.

Mr Young said: "DHL is a multi-billion pound global business and it is great to have won and completed this first deal for them."