Tom Watkins

Real estate.

Tom is a partner in the real estate team. With a background in corporate law, Tom acts on a range of corporate transactions where real estate is the fundamental asset, including on public and private M&A deals, joint ventures and restructurings.

Tom has a varied client base, with particular experience acting for institutional investors on investments in the UK and European real estate markets. He has been involved in transactions across all sectors, including commercial property, logistics, hotels, retail and student accommodation, and has particular expertise of cross-border portfolio transactions.

Work highlights

Tom has led on many high-profile real estate transactions. His experience includes advising:

A major US pension fund and its JV partner on its acquisition of a EUR700m portfolio of retail malls located in Spain, Italy and Poland Brookfield on its £4.6bn hostile takeover of Songbird Estates, the holding company of the Canary Wharf Estate AustralianSuper, the Australian superannuation fund, on two separate transactions to acquire a combined 67% interest in the Kings Cross redevelopment project alongside developer Argent A North American pension fund on: its JV with a listed UK REIT and the acquisition by the JV of a £1bn portfolio of logistics assets in Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands its acquisition of three portfolios of student accommodation with an aggregate value in excess of £1bn its JV with a listed UK insurer and the acquisition by the JV of a £1bn portfolio of prime office/retail assets A private investor on the £400m acquisition of 334-338 Oxford Street A US hedge fund on its acquisition of two UK real estate portfolios CBREGI on several acquisitions/disposals, including the Angel Central Shopping Centre and several London office assets Lendlease on its £750m disposal of the Bluewater shopping centre

Tom studied jurisprudence at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University