Real Estate

The real estate landscape is competitive and constantly evolving.

With a team of 30 direct real estate lawyers focusing on the full life-cycle of any real estate project and a wider cross-practice team of over 50 lawyers, we have a deep understanding of the commercial challenges you face. Read on for more information about our experience and expertise.

For international mandates we call on our carefully cultivated relationships with leading independent law firms around the world to provide a first-class, seamless service for our clients wherever it is needed.

A range of high-calibre and high-profile corporate clients rely on our team’s expertise across a wide range of real estate asset classes such as healthcare, retail, offices, multi-family schemes, infrastructure and hotels.

Working closely with real estate specialists within the Finance, Corporate M&A, Funds and Tax teams, our Real Estate department regularly advises on all aspects of real estate including:

asset management
buying, selling and leasing property
construction and engineering
development and investment financing
development schemes
environmental issues
insolvency and CVAs
investment fund structures
joint ventures
planning
property disputes

Perspectives

Funds

We act for a variety of real estate funds including Clearbell, Patron, Lothbury and Pinewood Benson Elliott. We also have an award-winning funds team in the firm, which advises fund managers, executives and investors on both transactional and advisory work across all funds sector. This work equips us with unique insight into the market and the trends shaping it.

Real Estate Finance

Our versatile real estate finance team provides a first-class service that embraces both technical quality and commercial awareness. Examples of our work streams includes refinancings, fund finance and infrastructure finance.

Restructuring and Insolvency

Our dedicated Restructuring & Insolvency team has the technical expertise to navigate through the most complex and high-value restructurings, providing practical and workable solutions. We have steered clients through some of the most high-profile CVAs seen in recent years.

Real Estate Healthcare

We have a very successful real estate healthcare team, working on high profile transactions in the care home and senior living sectors. Our clients are amongst the most significant players in the market, including McCarthy Stone and Patron Capital.

Infrastructure

With a group of dedicated sector specialists embedded within our market-leading transactional teams, we regularly advise some of the leading infrastructure funds in the UK on their most significant, complex and high-value investments. Our experience covers energy (conventional power, renewable energy and energy infrastructure), transport, water and waste management, oil and gas, utilities, social infrastructure and communications.

Operational Real Estate

We have a unique position to advise on all sides of the table and across the sector, with a cross departmental practice dedicated to the operational real estate sector. We have significant experience in investment into alternative assets, and deep relationships with the leading industry bodies and intermediaries, which means that we are well positioned to advise in this area, with a particular focus on senior living, multi-family, co-living and student accommodation schemes.

- Hamberley in relation to the sale of over £200m of care homes assets to Rynda Healthcare and Octopus Real Estate.
- Ancala Partners LLP on the acquisition of Ludlow Street Healthcare by Holmleigh Care Group, a care organisation in Ancala Partners LLP's portfolio.
- McCarthy Stone on the sale of a portfolio sale of 135 apartments to Waverstone LLP. The transaction followed an initial sale and lease back of 41 sales offices and show flats to Waverstone LLP in October 2019. The deal included the sale of 94 finished apartments and apartments under construction in Scotland, which completes the Group’s strategy to exit its development activity in Scotland.
- European leisure park operator Looping Group on its acquisition of iconic British theme park Drayton Manor.
- Impact Healthcare REIT plc in connection with a £100 million placing. The Fund used the placing proceeds to repay its revolving credit facilities and to continue to pursue investment opportunities in UK healthcare real estate assets, in particular residential care homes.
- Hamberley Care Homes on the acquisition of a number of care homes at Mapledurham, Eastleigh, Dorking, Cambridge, and Broadoaks; the forward funding of development of care homes at Ampthill and Hailsham; and the financing of care homes at Brampton, Bristol, Broadoaks and Edwalton.
- Ancala on the acquisition of a majority stake in Holmleigh Care Homes for its European Infrastructure Fund II. Holmleigh provide residential care, supported living and domiciliary care services to adults with a varied range of disabilities and challenges across 31 homes in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Swindon and Worcestershire.
- Patron on the acquisition of various care homes including Pickering House Dorking, a development site at Eastleigh, and the sale of a care homes at Adderbury.
- Aedifica on the acquisition of a brand-new purpose-built care home in Congleton, Cheshire, for approximately £13m comprising 80 en-suite bedrooms for seniors requiring continuous care. The care home will be operated by Handsale.
- Assura PLC, the UK's leading Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust, on its £185 million placing by way of an accelerated bookbuild.

- Adventurous Journeys Capital Partners (AJ Capital Partners) on its acquisition of the historic Slieve Donard Hotel Resort & Spa, which adjoins the world famous Royal County Down Golf Club.
- McCarthy Stone on its agreement to sell a portfolio of retirement rental apartments to a joint venture between John Laing and Macquarie Capital for approximately £200m. It was the largest transaction of its type in the UK.
- Impact Healthcare REIT plc in connection with a £40 million placing. Impact used the placing proceeds to fund further acquisitions of care homes and future development projects as well as reinvestment into existing assets.
- Aedifica on the acquisition of a brand-new purpose-built care home in Congleton, Cheshire, for approximately £13m comprising 80 en-suite bedrooms for seniors requiring continuous care.
- Clearbell Property Partners III LP (Clearbell), a fund managed by long-term client Clearbell Capital LLP on the sale of a 116,000 sq ft warehouse site at Thatcham Park, Berkshire to NFU Mutual Insurance Society Limited for £24.95 million, and its purchase of 85 Gray's Inn Road, a 28,000 sq. ft office building set across five floors in London Midtown and the 120,000 sq ft Orbital retail park in Cannock, Staffordshire.
- PLATFORM_ on its joint venture (JV) with Northwood Investors to develop and operate BTR assets across regional centres in the United Kingdom.
- A. Brain & Company, Limited on a deal with Marston's plc which will see Marstons take on the operation of 156 Brains' pubs in Wales.
- Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. on its acquisition of the property known as 127-133 Charing Cross Road from RDI REIT PLC.