Meeting from above to illustrate real estate finance

Real estate finance at institutional scale

In an evolving credit landscape marked by volatility, regulatory pressure, and shifting capital sources, real estate finance has become more complex. Transactions demand technical precision and a deep understanding of market dynamics, risk allocation, and capital structure across origination, execution, and monetization.

DLA Piper’s Real Estate Finance team advises lenders, debt funds, insurance companies, investment banks, and institutional investors on sophisticated financing, refinancing, and restructuring transactions across asset classes and geographies. We are trusted on high value, high stakes matters, often through repeat engagements for the same institutional capital providers, where execution certainty and risk management are critical.

Investors and lenders are increasingly combining traditional financing tools and creating alternative finance structures. Our experience in real estate and finance, coupled with a full-service approach, means we advise on all aspects of this industry and its changing requirements.

We represent lenders including debt funds, insurance companies, investment banks, and commercial banks. On the borrower side, we represent institutional investors, public real estate investment trusts (REITs), pension funds and pension advisors, and private equity funds.

Our global footprint is the platform for us to lead on the largest and most complex transactions. From single-asset to billion-euro complex structured deals, we support you at every stage. This includes origination, structuring, syndication, securitization, loan servicing, and restructuring.

“Noted for our global reach combined with local market insight, our European real estate finance team has been named Law Firm of the Year by Real Estate Capital.”

Our lawyers also bring experience in preferred equity and mezzanine loan transactions, and represent investors making joint venture investments with real estate owners and developers, banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and others. We regularly work with our own tax, corporate and restructuring teams in development and to deliver the necessary expertise our clients require for each individual transaction.

As one of the leading sports stadium finance teams, we also regularly advise lenders and clubs on high profile sports-related domestic and international financings.

Noted for our global reach combined with local market insight, our European real estate finance team has been named Law Firm of the Year by Real Estate Capital.

Awards and recognition

Law Firm of the YearReal Estate Capital Europe Awards 2023

Law Firm of the Year: EuropeReal Estate Capital Europe Awards 2021

Experience

Aareal Bank AG as lender on the EUR287 million, GBP40 million and SEK507.3 million refinancing of a European hotel portfolio for the Archer Hotel Group. The portfolio comprises 7 hotels in England, France, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Fortress Investment Group LLC in connection with the acquisition of shares and management rights in a number fund vehicles and owned by Colony Capital. The acquired interests were in non-digital real estate positions with a total consideration of USD535 million subject to adjustments. Fortress acquired interests in approximately 40 positions encompassing over 100 properties in Europe and the US.
Aareal Bank AG on providing a EUR360 million senior facility for the financing of an international retail property portfolio by Pradera European Retail Parks SCSp, comprising a total of 17 retail properties in Germany, France and Poland.
Harrison Street in relation to an acquisition and development financing made available by a fund to a JV with CA Ventures to assist with the acquisition and development of a 623 bed purpose-built student accommodation scheme in Cork, Ireland. This was the first acquisition for the newly formed JV in Ireland.
Oxford Properties as sponsor on the acquisition financing of a portfolio of logistics and warehousing properties in Denmark. The facilities were provided by Morgan Stanley and used to acquire the Sky portfolio of 27 properties based across Denmark comprising 223,800sqm of floor space.
A syndicate of lenders on the GBP200 million development facility made available for the Consort Place mixed-use project in Canary Wharf, comprising 500 private for sale. 1401 affordable housing units, a school, health centre and hotel.
Fortress Investment Group LLC on the French financing aspects of the acquisition from Colony of certain Real Estate funds, co-investment vehicles and other Real Estate positions (either sponsor or lender positions) representing approximately USD2.7 billion in combined assets under management.
Blackstone in relation to a EUR612 million senior and mezzanine mortgage financing granted by a syndicate of lenders for the refinancing of the equity-financed acquisition of a large pan-European portfolio, composed in particular of 3 French portfolios of multiple logistic assets.
Aareal Bank Group in closing its financing agreement with investment manager Vertiq Capital. The two loans, which total EUR140 million, will respectively refinance the 25hours Paris Terminus Nord hotel in Paris, and finance the acquisition of the Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection in London; the latter qualifies as a Green Loan, under Aareal Bank’s third-party certified Green Finance Framework.
Slate Office REIT on its acquisition of Yew Grove REIT plc, an Irish property REIT listed on Euronext Dublin and the London Stock Exchange plc., which owns interests in and operates a portfolio of 55 real estate assets across North America and Europe.
Market Tech Holdings on a GBP900 million debt facility secured against 14 acres of iconic London real estate assets, including the main Camden Markets, with digital capabilities to deliver commercial, residential, living, leisure and retail space.