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:
• Cerberus on various transactions, including the formation of a hotels joint venture, the acquisition of the QBic hotels business and the disposal of the Admiral Taverns pub business
• a US financial investor on the creation of a pan-European hotels platform, including the acquisition of several seed assets
• a global investment and financial services company on £1bn the sale and leaseback of its European HQ
• TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association) on its disposal of a stake in the EUR5bn “CHOP” pan-European office platform
• Cromwell on the disposal of a EUR1bn retail fund to a Singaporean REIT
• a North American pension fund on
  • its acquisition of a £1bn portfolio of logistics assets in Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Belgium, and;
  • the Netherlands the recapitalisation of a £3bn student accommodation platform

Tom studied jurisprudence at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University