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Corporate Real Estate and Funds

in Corporate
Overview
Representative Experience

Awards

Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner is recognised as one of the market leaders in corporate real estate and investment funds. As part of the number one ranked Real Estate Sector team in the UK we ensure a full service from “cradle to grave”, supporting clients from the inception and structuring of investment funds to capital raising, operation, regulatory compliance, restructuring and exit strategies including indirect real estate M&A representing both managers and investors, including corporate and government pension plans, retirement systems, foundations and sovereign wealth funds in negotiating investments in alternative assets and funds, giving us insight into the issues faced on both sides of the investment table.

We act for several of the most active fund managers and have well-established capabilities across a variety of alternative investment sectors in the funds sector, including private equity, real estate, credit and venture capital funds, series trusts and other open-ended and closed-ended alternative investment vehicles, specialising in the real estate sector.

Representative Experience

The team have recently advised:

  • KKR, the global investment firm, on their £610m investment in UK-wide BTR projects, including their investment into a new £1.7bn BTR JV platform with Apache Capital which is expected to deliver 4,000 homes.
  • The largest UK hotels sale on record – Grange Hotels’ £1bn portfolio sale to Queensgate Investments. The portfolio comprised four hotels in central London. 
  • Long Harbour (a specialist real estate investment, development and management firm) on its £1bn club fund formation, joint ventures and expansive investment program
  • WR Berkley on its sale of the Scalpel for more than £700m and the establishment of the new debt fund management platform, Birchwood Investors
  • Pluto Capital on the formation of seven real estate debt funds and the sale of 49% of its investment management platform to USS and the resulting joint venture
  • Edge Technology on two joint ventures – a JV with Mitsui Fosun for the acquisition and development of the London Stock Exchange Building, and a JV with Goldman Sachs for the development of a cutting-edge smart building at London Bridge.
  • U.S. private equity real estate firm Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors – one of the 50 largest PE firms in the world – on a significant joint venture with GSA/Kinetic to create a new $1 billion debt funding platform (under the Rhize Capital brand) for the European student housing financing market serving experienced PBSA owners, developers and operators in the UK and Europe.
  • CBRE Global Investors on the creation of the CBRE UK Property PAIF, including the merger of the real estate portfolios previously held by CBRE UK Property Fund and the Electricity Pension Scheme to create the £1.4bn fund. 
  • Canary Wharf Group and LandSec on the £1.28bn sale of interests in the fund vehicles holding 20 Fenchurch Street, also known as the Walkie Talkie, an iconic London office building. 
  • Clearbell Capital on the formation of a series of private equity real estate funds including, most recently, Clearbell Property Partners III which raised commitments of £310m from investors in the US, Australia, Europe, Middle East and South America. 
  • Unite Students, the UK’s leading manager and developer of student accommodation on its specialist funds and joint ventures with institutional investment partners, including the £2.3 billion Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund, an open-ended non-listed real estate fund. 

 

Awards

Awards

Our team have been ranked for 17 years by leading legal directory Chambers & Partners.

"The funds team is able to simplify the complex and be constructive and commercial." Chambers & Partners 2023

"Exceptional market knowledge from a legal perspective but also from an investor’s position is unsurpassed. Innovations include excellent networking initiatives and a willingness to role sleeves up on industry lobbying initiatives.” Legal 500 2023

"The lawyers at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner are market leaders. They have intimate knowledge of the latest transactions, as well as extensive technical and negotiating skills." Chambers & Partners 2023

‘The BCLP real estate funds team  are extremely knowledgeable across the full spectrum of onshore and offshore investment vehicles including limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, unit trusts and authorised open-ended funds. They effectively leverage the firm’s multidisciplinary real estate expertise to deliver great results for clients. I view them as a top-tier real estate funds practice.’ Legal 500 2023

‘Our relationship partner is smart and responsive to our real estate fund needs. We have a collaborative relationship, from the conceptual discussions regarding new fund opportunities through to the detailed drafting and negotiation of documentation with multiple investors.’ Legal 500 2023