Housing a strong and ‘knowledgeable’ team, Clifford Chance (Gaikokuho Kyodo Jigyo) is well-positioned to advise foreign clients investing in the Japanese market, and has experienced growth in data centre and logistics related matters, in addition to mandates concerning assets from the hotel and hospitality industries. The group also advises on a number of significant infrastructure transactions and projects within the construction space. Eiichi Kanda, who co-leads the practice, specialises in asset management, joint venture and securitisation issues. The team also assists with asset acquisitions and divestments and private equity transactions, and Leng-Fong Lai advises sponsors and financiers on real estate investment and financing transactions, including mezzanine and hybrid financing. Practice co-head Yoshiaki Shimizu, who specialises in real estate finance, investment and development, was promoted to partner in May 2023, and Natsuko Sugihara specialises in handling private equity and M&A transactions. Hans Menski contributes his expertise in projects, with particular emphasis on the development and financing of power, infrastructure, and oil and gas projects.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Global platform which enables to work on cross-border transactions.'
- 'Comprised of an international team - in Japan this is done by a team that is good at real estate and English.'
- 'The team is highly professional and knowledgeable in their field. They have provided us with excellent service. What makes the team unique is its holistic understanding of the real estate fund investment structure from offshore to onshore.'
- 'Yoshinari Shimizu is highly professional and knowledgeable in his field. They have provided us with excellent service bridging offshore-onshore structures and helping us achieve our goals.'
- 'Knowledge, flexibility and speed.'
Key clients
- PIMCO Prime Real Estate (formerly known as Allianz Real Estate)
Work highlights
- Acted for a global asset manager and its real estate fund on the fund's acquisition of an office building in Tokyo called Harumi Front from Japan Real Estate Investment Corporation, a Japanese REIT.
- Acted for PIMCO Prime Real Estate on its series of acquisitions of residential portfolio under the fund platform formed by PIMCO Prime Real Estate and co-invested by Ivanhoe Cambridge.
Lawyers
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Yoshiaki Shimizu, Eiichi Kanda