David is an associate in Ropes & Gray’s private equity real estate group in London. He advises a broad range of investors on their UK and European PERE deals, acting for PE / RE funds, pension and sovereign wealth funds, private wealth, family offices and operating partners. David advises on a range of direct and indirect real estate transactions including joint ventures, acquisitions and financings, disposals, real estate M&A, majority and minority equity investments and co-investments, as well as sale and leasebacks and development-led investments.

David has experience across all types of real estate assets and businesses including offices, retail and leisure, logistics and industrial, health care and life sciences, data centres and residential (PRS and BTR).

Disclaimer
Ropes & Gray International LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in Delaware, United States of America and is a recognised body regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (with registered number 52100).

Experience

Recent experience includes advising:

  • Partners Group on its programmatic joint venture with Host Student Housing to build up a £1 billion UK purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) and co-living platform and on the joint venture’s first acquisition of a four-asset seed portfolio 
  • GIC in connection with its acquisition of a 40% interest in The Oxford Science Park from Magdalen College, Oxford and on a strategic joint venture between GIC and Magdalen College aimed at accelerating major development of the Science Park
  • QuadReal on the upsize and extension of the projected €4bn European logistics development platform, Continental Development Partners I (CDP I), sponsored by global logistics operator, GLP, under which QuadReal increased its equity commitment to CDP I to €800m
  • King Street and Arax Properties on their joint venture acquisition from Blackstone of Alban Gate in the City of London for £295 million and on the associated financing with Apollo
  • A South African investor on the £107m acquisition and financing of an 80,000 sq ft Grade A office premises in the heart of the City of London.
  • Arrow Capital Partners on its Strategic Industrial Real Estate (SIRE) joint venture with US private equity real estate fund Cerberus to acquire and manage, for long-term purposes, a projected €3 billion portfolio of industrial and urban logistics properties across Europe
  • A Family Office on the €500 million acquisition, development and financing of one of the World’s largest data centres and its associated letting to a major international tech company
  • A U.S. Opportunity Fund with over $27 billion of assets under management on its UK and European real estate acquisitions and investments including domestic and cross-border joint ventures
  • Saïd Holdings on its real estate investments and financings, including on the acquisition and subsequent sale of 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, to a Chinese investor for £270 million
  • A U.S. Opportunity Fund on the disposal of a shopping centre located in continental Europe to a multinational insurance firm
  • A PERE Fund on the structured acquisition, financing and subsequent sale of 123 Buckingham Palace Road, London for c.£243 million

Areas of Practice