The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Germany > Real estate

The 'absolutely leading' real estate practice at Clifford Chance has a particular focus on transactions in the commercial properties sector. Its international client base includes financially sound asset managers, insurers and investment companies, which also consult the team around Christian Keilich on investments in high-volume asset portfolios. Fabian Böhm is recommended for portfolio transactions and real estate aspects of financing and refinancing, while counsel Philipp Stoecker particularly acts in national and cross-border real estate investments and transactions. Further expertise exists in relation to asset classes such as retail, logistics and housing. Former practice head Cornelia Thaler left the firm in January 2019 to found her own firm Thaler Law.

Greenberg Traurig Germany advises a client roster predominantly composed of Anglo-American investors on transactions as well as in the run-up to German real estate market entries. Its day-to-day business is also characterised by assisting with nationwide housing portfolios, where the firm acts on behalf of national and international investors on both purchasing and selling side. The group also has a significant strength in assisting with complex project developments and planned acquisitions in the Frankfurt office sector. Among others, Florian Rösch advises on this, but he also assists with real estate transactions as well as court and out-of-court disputes in the real estate field. The practice is also occasionally instructed by the public authorities. Practice head Christian Schede, Peter Schorling and Kati Beckmann jointly specialise in the financing of high-profile real estate fonds.

McDermott Will & Emery Rechtsanwälte Steuerberater LLP's real estate practice 'runs like clockwork' and has a high market reputation for its assistance with project developments in the commercial properties sector. Exemplary in this context was the advice to longstanding client SIGNA on the biggest commercial properties deal of the year, which emerged from Karstadt and Kaufhof's merger. The client base, which is characterised by long-term advice, include shopping centre operators as well as developers and asset managers from the retail sector. On another note, the Düsseldorf-based team around Jens Ortmanns has been able to further unfold its remarkable entry into the traditionally closed Hamburg market. Financing lawyer Dustin Schwerdtfeger made partner in January 2019 and in September 2019, the team welcomed capital management expert Frank Mueller, former head of Corpus Sireo's legal department. Counsel Maximilian Clostermeyer has extensive experience in portfolio transactions.

The strongly internationally oriented real estate group at CMS assists with project developments and transactions in all significant asset classes. Thus the practice under the leadership of Sebastian Orthmann demonstrates competencies in portfolio management and expansion in the logistics and housing sectors. Besides its assistance with existing and planned care homes, hotels and operator-run properties, niche advice related to the design of leasing agreements for the entertainment industry is also gaining in importance. Heinz-Joachim Kummer is frequently instructed by institutional investors seeking advice on inventory build-up.  

Dentons' real estate practice is well versed in project developments and advises a client base composed of international investors and urban housing societies. Particularly remarkable is the advice provided to private equity firms and special funds on the development and subsequent marketing of conversion sites that are meant to be converted to student housing, care units and family flats. Additional strengths of the team behind Dirk-Reiner Voß include land development for logistics facilities as well as refinancing of asset portfolios under the aegis of Bernhard Gemmel. The practice was strengthened by the arrival of David Zafra Carollo from Noerr and Dominik Thomer from Clifford Chance.

Led by Roland Bomhard, Hogan Lovells International LLP's real estate practice focuses on comprehensive advice related to user-oriented specialist properties ranging from hotel and logistics centres to offices. Frankfurt-based Marc Werner  is a highly sought-after expert in the hotel sector. Further competencies of the firm include the assistance with site conversions and leasehold-related property acquisitions, as well as the updating of leasing contracts. Martin Haase, who focuses on specialist real estate, made partner in January 2019.

The real estate practice at Noerr puts strong emphasis on advising banks and financial institutions on the financing of project developments and portfolio expansion. The real estate investment group under the aegis of renowned practice head Annette Pospich is frequently instructed by a client base predominantly composed of national developers and investors seeking advice on capital management and construction projects in the asset classes hotel, office and logistics. Former practice head Alexander Goepfert left the firm in January 2019 to act as senior advisor to Apollo and its European real estate and distressed debt funds on its further expansion in Germany. Rene Dubois and David Zafra Carollo joined Dentons respectively in July 2018 and May 2019, while Philip Smitka joined Squire Patton Boggs in October 2018. Christoph Hons joined from Jones Day in February 2019 and Karsten Fink made partner the month before.  

The 'highly professional' real estate practice at DLA Piper has manifold capacities in assisting with transactions across the entire spectrum of asset classes, first of all hotels, student housing and logistic units. Under the joint leadership of Lars Reubekeul and Fabian Mühlen, the team also advises operators of specialist real estate on the realisation of data centres among other matters. The renowned Martin Haller was able to unfold his competencies in assisting with project developments, particularly in the hotel area. Another strength includes the advice to institutional investors on acquiring large-scale conversion sites as well as fully-let city quarters. Transactions are handled by Christian Lonquich among others; he also assists with asset management and financing issues.

The 'very well-practised' real estate team at Eversheds Sutherland can call on advice capacities in corporate real estate, project development and cross-border transactions. Besides traditional strengths in the asset classes logistics and office, specialist properties, particularly data centres and care homes, are gaining in importance. The strongly international character of the client base of Gerhard Molt's group becomes apparent in ongoing advice to globally active technology corporations, while inbound and outbound transactions in the commercial property sector constitute another central pillar of the practice. The team was strengthened by the arrival of Maximilian Findeisen from Mütze Korsch Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH in October 2018 and Martina Sradj from a client in January 2019, as well as by the partner promotion of Philipp Turnwald in May 2019.

Jones Day specialises in the financing of real estate transactions on buyer and financing side. The well-practiced team around Sandra-Christiane Kamper advises an international client base from the private equity, capital management and banking sectors on the creation of alternative investment and specialist funds as well as on complex transactions, including acquisition financing. Thus, Claudia Leyendecker's sound know-how in the financing and M&A areas is complemented by Nicole Kadel's proven expertise in real estate transactions with a focus on logistics properties. Christian Trenkel is well versed in the implementation of mezzanine financings on behalf of investment companies.

At King & Spalding LLP, a strong focus of its real estate practice lays on transaction-related longterm advice to banks, capital managers and investment companies on the development of pan-European funds. Furthermore, the team around Mario Leißner  has a traditional strength in assisting with supervisory law aspects of fund structuring as well as with the refinancing of single properties and portfolios. Andreas Bohme often advises borrowers, while Sebastian  Kaufmann assists creditors either with the first-time edition of investment platforms or in relation to specific transactions. Henning Aufderhaar advises on national or cross-border real estate transactions across all asset classes and Alexandra Weis made partner in January 2019.

Split between Hamburg, Frankfurt and Munich, Norton Rose Fulbright's real estate practice advises a client base composed of capital management companies, insurers and project developers with a focus on the asset class office. In this context, the comprehensive assistance with complex investments including joint ventures is part of the core business, while practice head Stefan Feuerriegel is also regularly consulted in relation to renovated and newly developed shopping centres. In relation to acquisitions in the office and hotel sectors, the group focuses on properties with value recovery potential.  Thomas Hopf joined the Frankfurt office of avocado rechtsanwälte in April 2019.

Growing on personnel level, the real estate practice at White & Case LLP was able to expand its advice offering to corporate support to a client base that includes an increasing number of real estate funds. Significant emphasis continues to be placed on traditional transactions, particularly in the asset classes office and retail. Assisting investment companies with the acquisition of shopping centres reflects Endrik Lettau's team's increasingly strong strategic focus on the development of medium-sized German cities (so-called b-cities). Holger Wolf is an experienced key contact for acquisition financing of cross-border M&A transactions in the real estate sector. Thyl Hassler and Murad Daghles joined the firm respectively in March and February 2019 from Allen & Overy LLP.

Led by Florian Thamm, the practice group at Baker McKenzie particularly stands out in the areas of commercial tenancy law and family offices. Thereby, the group has a significant focus on assisting with cross-border transactions. Accordingly, the advice to well-known fashion brands on retail space leasing following their German market entry as well as the comprehensive commercial advice to foreign private investors on high-volume acquisitions constitute the central pillars of the practice. Another strength of the practice relates to environmentally afflicted partial divestures of industrial sites. The public law expertise of experienced counsel Janet Butler is sought-after in relation to transactions and project developments across all significant asset classes. Furthermore, the practice was strengthened by the arrival of real estate financing expert Patrick Mittmann from Hogan Lovells International LLP in September 2018.

Since the arrival of partners Matthias Ohmer and Jens Müller in 2018, BEITEN BURKHARDT's team increasingly focuses on tax advice to national and international development companies and investors in relation to their investments, which were partially transacted via the Netherlands, in the German real estate sector. A clear transactional focus is in the retail sector, where Volker Szpak is frequently instructed with M&A issues. Florian Baumann, who is often recommended by clients, has been advising capital managers on transactions across all asset classes for many years. Markus Möller joined TRACC Legal Rechtsanwälte in April 2019.

The Frankfurt-based real estate team at Goodwin specialises in advising international capital management companies, institutional investors and private equity funds mainly on transactions in the asset classes retail, office and logistics. A special niche is covered by assisting foreign investors with multistage equity transactions. Thus, practice head Marc Bohne and Peter Junghänel regularly act in cross-border acquisitions and sales related to joint ventures.  

Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek's sizeable real estate practice focuses on assisting with transactions and project developments in the asset classes office, hotel, logistics and retail. Additional competencies of Thomas Nickel and Stephan Freund's team lay in transactional advice to private and institutional investors in relation to due diligence matters as well as in refinancing. Armin Freiherr von Grießenbeck   is often instructed with matters related to ongoing construction projects on airport grounds, while cross-practice support for infrastructure projects is meant to constitute an increasingly important part of  the group's daily business in the future.

The mittelstand-focused real estate practice at Heussen assists a client base that predominantly includes national real estate developers with various project developments in the asset classes residential and commercial properties as well as administration buildings. Longstanding partner Jan Dittmann advises not only on traditional transactions, but also on land development and subsequent realisation, including large-scale mixed-use areas and nationwide portfolios. The Munich-based team around practice head Norbert Huber was strengthened by the partner promotion of Y.S. Kaan Kalkan in October 2018.

With a strong focus on Berlin, Raue's real estate practice lays its focus on the health sector, both with regards to object-related transactions as well as to contractual adjustments pertaining to the transfer of undertakings. In this context, Cornelia Gorn is the key contact. The group also advises in the asset classes logistics and residential, particularly in relation to project developments. Here, the team has particular strength with regards to the transfer of conversions sites out of intensive industrial use. The team around Klaus Goecke frequently acts either in agreement with or on behalf of the public authorities, for instance on the design of amendment agreements.

The real estate practice at Arnecke Sibeth Dabelstein is clearly geared towards the M&A sector. Thus, based on the main contacts Wolfgang Scholl and Alexander Lehnen's competencies, corporate and tax advice to national project developers and investors on internal reorganisations and asset management stand particularly out. The firm also occasionally acts on behalf of international asset managers in transactions.

Möhrle Happ Luther is traditionally geared towards transactions in the commercial properties field. Furthermore, its day-to-day business is increasingly characterised by the assistance with project developments. The two longstanding partner Anne Schöning and Oliver Reimann  are sought-after for advice on acquisitions and realisations of logistics sites, particularly when the public authorities act on the buying side, while Simon Golshan has been instructed several times in relation to new car park developments. In addition to asset managers and project developers, the four-partner team also advises the urban development company HafenCity Hamburg GmbH on sales of numerous construction sites on an ongoing basis.

Geared toward transactions, the real estate practice at Simmons & Simmons specialises on the financing of single asset and portfolio acquisitions both on borrower as well as creditor side. Wolfgang Kotzur is a renowned contact for multistage set ups of investment platforms, while practice head Matthias Wagner  also advises on tenancy law issues in the asset classes office, logistics and residential.

SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte advises an international client base on transactions and project developments as well as on financings issues across several asset classes. In addition to a significant strength in commercial tenancy law, in which context Olaf Kreißl  regularly assists medium-sized companies, practice head Jan Prielipp's team also has expertise in transactional due diligence as well as project development and litigation. A particular niche is covered by advising social institutions on developer-specific legal issues, while various national real estate funds instruct the firm with corporate matters. The client base is complemented by institutional investors and the public authorities.