Tom Watkins

Tom is the head of our real estate M&A team and co-leader of the firm’s real estate sector group. He is a corporate and private equity lawyer who focuses on transactions in the real estate sector including, public and private M&A deals, joint ventures and restructurings. He has a varied client base, with particular experience acting for institutional and private equity investors on investments in the UK and European real estate markets. He has been involved in transactions across all asset classes, including commercial property, logistics, hotels, retail and student accommodation, and has extensive experience of both operational platforms and propco structures. 

Work highlights

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

• GIC: advising on its acquisition of approximately 95% stake in the Sani/Ikos hotels group from approximately €2.3bn.
• GIC and Greystar: advising on the purchase of the £3.5bn “Student Roost” student accommodation business.
• Cromwell Property Group: advising on the sale of its €3.9bn European fund management platform and associated co-investments to Swiss real estate investor Stoneweg for €280m.

• PSP: advising on:
  • its formation of a joint venture with a UK listed REIT and the subsequent acquisition by the JV of a £3bn+ pan-European portfolio of logistics assets.
  • its joint venture with a UK listed REIT and the acquisition by the joint venture of a £1bn portfolio of commercial office and retail assets in central London.
  • its joint venture with Greystar and the acquisition by the joint venture of a £2bn portfolio of student accommodation assets and the subsequent recapitalisation with Allianz.
  • on the entry into a pan-European hotel and leisure joint venture with Eurazeo.

• Ontario Teachers' Pensions Plan: advising on:
  • its programmatic logistics joint venture with Boreal and subsequent deployment of £1bn+ of capital.
  • its joint venture with St. John’s College Oxford for the development of the site known as Oxford North into a leading life science park.
  • its formation of a multifamily programmatic JV with Long Harbour and PSP.
• Cerberus: advising on:

• its disposal of the Admiral Taverns pub group

• its acquisition of a £1bn hotel portfolio.

• TIAA: advising on the disposal of part of its stake in the €5bn CHOP pan-European office portfolio; its formation of a €3bn real estate joint venture with two Swedish pension funds in relation to a pan European portfolio of commercial assets.

• AustralianSuper: advising Australia’s biggest profit-to-member pension fund on its £580m acquisition from British Land of a 50% stake in the Canada Water masterplan.
• USS: acting for USS on its £405m acquisition of Sparrow Housing, a portfolio of 3000 shared ownership properties from Sage/Blackstone

Tom studied jurisprudence at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University