Baker McKenzie's 'reliable and professional' team is noted for providing 'very practical advice for M&A transactions with real estate as the underlying assets', with a focus on the retail and hospitality sectors. REIT transactions are also prominent in the group's workload. Edmond Chan and Rico Chan share leadership of the practice.
Real estate in Hong Kong
Baker McKenzie
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘The Baker McKenzie real estate team is very knowledgeable and at the same time commercial‘.
‘A well-coordinated, efficient, problem-solving team‘.
Key clients
Ascendas Hospitality Trust Management
China Merchants Commercial REIT
Gaw Capital Partners
Link REIT
Work highlights
- Advised Link REIT on its $975m acquisition of a shopping mall in Shenzhen.
Mayer Brown
At Mayer Brown, the team assisted both property developer China Motor Bus Company (CMB), alongside Swire Properties, with the sale of the clients' respective 50% stakes, worth HK$2.38bn each, in 625 King’s Road, an office tower in North Point to a special purpose vehicle of Gateway Real Estate Fund V; the office tower was previously owned as a joint venture between CMB and Swire Properties. Keith Cheung leads the 'efficient and solution-based' team; key contacts include Fun Kuen Au, Robert Lynn, real estate finance expert Jasmine Chiu, and Alvin Yeung, who handles a range of real estate development work.
Practice head(s):
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Testimonials
‘It is truly a one-stop firm for real estate matters‘.
Key clients
Sun Hung Kai Properties
Swire Properties
CSI Properties
Hysan Development Company
Work highlights
- Advised United Overseas Bank as leader of a syndicate of banks on the HK$9.169bn senior secured financing for the acquisition of a portfolio of 12 retail properties in Hong Kong by a consortium led by Gaw Capital Partners.
Deacons
Deacons is 'very well established in the real estate space', and counts developer-side mandates as a core strength of the practice. Commercial, residential, and industrial real estate projects are prominent in the team's workload. The 'very commercial' practice head Lilian Chiang is 'a leading expert in real estate matters'. Wallace Wong provides 'responsive and practical advice'; Karen Chan is also singled out.
Practice head(s):
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Testimonials
‘Knowledgeable in all aspects of real estate matters‘.
Key clients
MTR Corporation
ACE Dragon Development
Wheelock Properties
Power Trust Development
Work highlights
- Advising MTR Corporation on the on-going development of the LOHAS Park residential project.
DLA Piper
Susheela Rivers heads up the team at DLA Piper. The team is well versed in assisting lender and sponsor entities with cross-border real estate transactional work for a client base made up predominantly of prominent corporations, investment managers, and real estate funds. Ed Sheremeta has rejoined as a senior partner from Ropes & Gray LLP.
Practice head(s):
Testimonials
‘Professional manner but also easy to work with‘.
Key clients
Ping An Insurance
Five Guys
Work highlights
- Advising Ping An Insurance on the acquisition of a 30% stake in, and entering into a joint venture with, Sung Hung Kai Properties in order to develop the retail complex at the West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong.
- Assisting Five Guys with leasing matters as part of the company’s expansion in Hong Kong.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Andrew MacGeoch heads up the 'proactive' team at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, which is well known for its expertise in handling real estate matters involving hotels as assets. The group has been kept particularly busy handling REITs mandates, and is well versed in advising on sale-leasebacks, acquisitions, and disposals, among other areas. Other key names in the practice are senior consultant Phill Smith and counsel Ann Ho.
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Testimonials
‘Ann Ho is very strong in Hong Kong property law‘.
‘A go-to firm for hotel management contracts‘.
Key clients
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
Link REIT
Yuexiu REIT
HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Asia)
Fortune REIT
Champion REIT
Sunlight REIT
Work highlights
- Advised the trustee of Link REIT on its A$683m purchase of a ten-storey office building in Sydney; this was the client’s first acquisition of real estate outside China.
- Assisted the trustee of Yuexiu REIT with the acquisition of 289 car park spaces at City Development Plaza and Fortune Plaza in Guangzhou.
Clifford Chance
Clifford Chance's department is integrated within the firm's gaming, real estate, and lodging practice, and handles high-profile real estate acquisitions, refinancings, joint venture mandates, and M&A matters, to name a few areas. Matthias Feldmann has expertise in advising on real estate-related fund formation work; he shares leadership of the practice with Dauwood Malik, who is well versed in handling real estate finance matters.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Chelsfield Group (Asia)
Phoenix Property Investors
Kai Tak Sports Park
Carrefour Nederland
HOPU Investments
CK Asset Holdings
Work highlights
- Advised a prominent investment bank on forming a consortium, and entering into a joint venture with the consortium’s members in order to acquire 12 community retail centres in Hong Kong from Link REIT.
- Assisted two prominent banks with the £600m financing of skyscraper office building 20 Fenchurch Street in London.
- Acted for a prominent bank in its $118m refinancing of a development project in Hong Kong.
King & Wood Mallesons
Siu Ngor Chow and Hayden Flinn head up the team at King & Wood Mallesons. The group operates within the firm's corporate and banking practices, and draws on its bench strength from its Shanghai and Beijing offices. Chow is leading the group acting for both the Urban Renewal Authority as vendor, alongside Union Score Investments, in the on-going HK$1.8bn pre-sale of 300 residential units located in Kowloon, as part of the Kwun Tong Town Centre project.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
Asian View Development
Urban Renewal Authority
Manful Global Development
Work highlights
- Assisting Best Wisdom Development with the HK$1bn pre-sale and sale of residential units as part of the ‘Mayfair by the Sea’ housing project located in Pak Shek Kok.
- Representing both the Urban Renewal Authority as vendor, alongside Elite Land Development, in the HK$450m pre-sale of 50 residential units located in Kowloon, as part of the Madison Park project.
Paul Hastings LLP
Paul Hastings LLP's real estate team, led by Paul Guan, is perhaps best known for advising developers and asset managers on fund formation mandates and high-value investments in real estate portfolios, and is also adept at cross-border transactional work.
Practice head(s):
Key clients
The Carlyle Group
Starwood Capital
Evergrande Group
Fortress Investment
Forum Partners
Gemini Investment Holdings
Goldman Sachs
Warburg Pincus
ARA Asset Management
Ascent Real Estate Investors (ARE)
Sigma Delta Partners Investment
Long Star Funds
Sino Ocean Capital
Work highlights
- Advising Proprium Capital Partners and its co-investor on forming a $500m joint venture with China SCE Group Holdings and FUNLIVE Holdings for investing in rental apartment projects in mainland China.
- Assisted UBAN Capital with forming its first private equity fund focusing on Chinese real estate-related investments.
Ropes & Gray LLP
At Ropes & Gray LLP, the Hong Kong real estate team advised Spring Asset Management, the asset manager of real estate investment trust Spring REIT, on the $555m refinancing of office complex China Central Place in Beijing. The group also counts global financial institutions as key clients. Associates June Lau, Anthony Chan, and Sally Law are noted. Former practice head Ed Sheremeta has rejoined DLA Piper.
Other key lawyers:
Key clients
Spring Asset Management