Real Estate Investments and Asset Management

You take care of location,
location, location.
We take care of advice,
advice, advice.
Mathilde Ostertag, Partner

Our law firm is one of Germany’s
leading legal advisers in real estate and
transactions.

The largest team of real estate lawyers in Germany and Luxembourg.

As a leading law firm in the real estate industry, clients value GSK Stockmann as a competent and well-connected partner for major market players.

We ensure that our clients receive advice that tackles all legal and commercial challenges surrounding real estate transactions. We focus on creating pragmatic and legally viable solutions and can cope with large-volume transactions and projects on a tight schedule.

As leading legal advisers in the fields of real estate and transactions, our offices in Luxembourg and Germany offer seamless cross-border advice.

Our client base includes private and public real estate companies, institutional investors such as financial institutions, insurance companies, asset management companies, real estate funds and pension funds as well as asset managers, private equity companies, family offices, project developers, hotel operators and estate agents.

Our approach:
360° advice.
Our foundation:
knowledge.

Markets in focus

If you want to make the most of every opportunity for growth across the board, top-notch legal support is crucial. Our bundled expertise in all sectors and markets is the answer.

We have been advising and supporting institutional investors in the field of real estate for many years now. Consequently, over the course of time, we have gained extensive experience in structuring, preparing, conducting and completing transactions of all kinds (share deals and asset deals, joint ventures, fund structures) as well as in financing transactions. In doing so, we focus particularly on the specific regulatory requirements which apply to each individual client. We offer our clients comprehensive and interdisciplinary advice and support on all the structural, tax-related, legal and supervisory aspects of real estate transactions. Our “360° Real Estate” approach is based on an in-depth commercial grasp of the real estate sector and market. We liaise with the relevant departments within our law firm to offer you the combined insights and expertise of our colleagues in Tax, Real Estate Management, Corporate, Investment Funds and Finance. Our services cover the entire value chain of a real estate investment – from greenfield construction through to placement on the capital market.

We also offer support with creating and structuring open-ended and closed-ended real estate funds. Last but not least, we can advise you on all real estate issues connected with the capital market (for example, structuring a REIT or preparing for flotation on the stock market).

The world of private equity investments is one of increasing competition and complexity. Not only do investors need a good instinct for opportunities; the success or failure of an investment also depends on good structuring, and on the ability of a legal adviser to implement even the most complex investment strategies.

Liaising closely with our private equity team, we advise and support financial investors and strategic investors in connection with real estate investments. The members of our team work hand in hand to ensure we fully understand the needs of our private equity investors. We will back you with the expertise required to enable you to assert yourself on the market.

We offer you comprehensive advice and support for the purchase and sale of real estate carried out on behalf of investors, as well as for ongoing real estate asset management of all types and classes. Clients trust our expertise as we handle their cases resolutely and efficiently.

To safeguard and further these interests, our dynamic and well-integrated team of experts taps into the valuable experience we have gained over the years with successful transactions and asset management cases. Wherever and whenever you need us, our highly specialised and experienced experts will help you with all legal and tax-related questions and negotiations.

The restructuring of the global economy has led to an increase in the amount of capital required by companies. In this connection, real estate constitutes an important resource for the financing needs of a company. The way companies handle this resource has changed in recent years. Formerly handled as classic property management, it has now become a business field in its own right.

Most companies, however, are not specialists in the field of real estate acquisition, management and marketing – and hence require the support of a partner who not only has the requisite legal expertise, but is also highly conversant with the real estate industry. We understand the corporate mentality and handle the needs and requirements of the real estate sector in an extremely professional manner. We also have the necessary expertise to act on behalf of companies in all sectors and industries – from high-tech businesses through to classic heavy industries.

Special requirements apply when it comes to legal advice in the public sector. On the one hand, we have companies in the public sector which are privately run, yet are still subject to public sector regulations; these also often have a special tax status. On the other hand, we have institutions in the public sector which are state-owned and subject to special laws and requirements on local, state and federal levels.

In addition to a thorough knowledge of this context, a profound political understanding is also necessary when advising the public sector. Our specialists have considerable expertise in this challenging field, and will help you bring your project to successful completion.

Family businesses are the essence of entrepreneurship, and are rightly regarded as the backbone of our economy. They take a sustainable and cross-generational approach to business. They are innovative, have strong regional roots and often enjoy international success. And they live and breathe their values. We provide you with reliable support for all matters related to your real estate. The advice we provide is enduring, and tailored to your individual situation.

There is no such thing as a typical commercial tenant. For this reason, professional legal advice is vital if negotiations with prospective tenants are to be conducted on an equal footing – from both a legal and an economic perspective.

Besides representing you in major mandates under tenancy law, such as the leasing of single-tenant properties and tailor-made project developments with a focus on building law, we can also represent you as tenants, in particular in ongoing asset management and in the litigious enforcement of your claims.

We always develop individual solutions which are tailored to the specific needs of our clients. If you are a tenant, you will benefit from our dynamic and integrated team of real estate experts – who will consistently offer you highly qualified and pragmatic advice and support, no matter how complex the question or negotiation.

Our law firm has earned a considerable reputation as a leading legal adviser in the growing market for investments in hotel properties. In particular, clients appreciate our comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach. Our wide spread of highly qualified experts in the “Hotels and Leisure” sector and our 360° approach enable us to advise not only on real estate law, but also on all aspects of corporate, tax, investment, construction, insolvency, labour, licensing and trademark laws.

We support our clients – national and international – along the entire value chain of a hotel property, beginning with applications for planning permissions, continuing through to project development, financing, renting or leasing the property and negotiating management contracts, franchise agreements and other operational contracts, and ending with the acquisition or sale of the hotel as an asset deal or share deal.

Our expertise in this field also covers complex deal structures such as forward funding, joint ventures, portfolio transactions and takeovers in the course of insolvency proceedings. In the field of financing and collateral for hotels, we act not only on behalf of banks and investors (mortgages, capital or mezzanine loans) but also on behalf of borrowers.

Naturally, we remain at your side in day-to-day operations, and can support you with ongoing or terminated hotel rental contracts or lease agreements, or during management changes, rebranding processes, renovation work or organisational restructuring. In the event of a dispute, we offer reliable and competent support – whether negotiating an out-of-court settlement, supporting you in arbitration proceedings or representing you in court.

Regardless of whether we are representing the interests of proprietors (project developers, institutional investors, family offices or other asset holders), or working on behalf of operational market players (innovative start-ups, white-label franchise holders or international hotel chains), and regardless of whether the project at hand is a budget product, a boarding house, a holiday resort or a luxury hotel – we always put ourselves in our client’s shoes and develop an individually tailored strategy that is legally watertight, tax-optimised and makes sound business sense. The advice we offer never comes from the sidelines; we are firmly rooted in the heart of the real estate industry. In other words, we are on the same page as our clients.

The asset class for the logistics industry is firmly established; this is reflected in the volume of new construction projects and investments. In particular, online shopping and ongoing globalisation offer a world of opportunities. Europe is still regarded as one of the world’s most attractive logistics locations, but land shortage and congested traffic infrastructures pose challenges.

Increasingly, investors are focussing not only on dedicated logistics facilities (distribution centres, warehouses, transhipment premises), but also on industrial real estate (corporate real estate, business parks, “light” industrial premises and production sites). Many of these are designed as multi-tenant, multi-purpose buildings; this increases diversification and hence reduces the level of risk.

Over the years, we have acquired considerable expertise, supporting countless clients with legal and tax-related advice on logistics and industrial real estate – handling, for example, complex building legal questions connected with the size or location of the respective real estate, or soil protection issues such as brownfield development, or standard tasks such as drafting rent or sale agreements. Thanks to many years of experience, we know exactly what to look out for.

Innovative, with long-term growth potential – the healthcare industry is an important driving force in the economy. The dynamic growth of the industry is marked by equally dynamic innovation and transformation processes. Successful companies use and develop these further. As the pressure of competition increases, we will help you stand your ground and assert yourself sustainably on the market. Thanks to our internal sector network, we are able to draw on considerable expertise when it comes to providing healthcare companies with legal advice. Our in-depth understanding of the role healthcare companies play enables us to quickly identify important correlations and focus on the essentials.

We provide comprehensive advice and support in the field of various types of healthcare real estate (such as nursing homes, hospitals, assisted living with or without day-care facilities, retirement villages and laboratories).

The structure of retail has undergone considerable change, and this trend is expected to continue in coming years. The challenge lies, therefore, not only in constantly seeking and finding new ways to do justice to the changing needs of tenants and customers, but also in establishing future-proof companies and locations that will stand the test of time.

In a world where businesses sink or swim, success often depends on finding the support of a true specialist and expert who will help you steer the course of developments in the industry, liaise closely with you, advise you on investments and help you maximise the value of your retail business.

Our interdisciplinary team consists of legal experts from a wide range of fields: real estate, construction, planning and regional planning, regulatory, brand portfolio management, M&A and corporate finance, tax, retail, HR, finances, insolvency, licensing, franchising, data protection, trade regulation, competition, disputes, prepaid cards and banks. Together, we offer up-to-date and down-to-earth advice that makes sound business sense.

Key areas of expertise

The right experts for every challenge, the perfect team for every client: We focus on the elements that drive your success.

We offer comprehensive advice for all types of real estate transactions, in particular share deals. Our expertise covers all types and classes of real estate from office buildings through to residential properties, retail premises and special properties such as hotels, shopping centres, logistics facilities and nursing homes.

We will also guide you through cross-border transactions, working hand in hand with hand-picked law firms in relevant countries. We support our clients through each and every phase of a transaction. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Corporate structuring in acquisition and sale processes
Consulting on transactions with regard to taxation in Luxembourg and abroad
Tax advice for financing; repatriation of profits; minimisation of real estate transfer tax and VAT
Providing advice and support in creating data rooms for sales processes
Preparing and conducting due diligence checks before acquisitions or sales
Structuring and negotiating contracts
Corporate resolutions
(Post-)closing support

Joint ventures in the field of real estate are becoming increasingly common. However, optimising the joint venture structure cross-border with regard to tax and corporate law is a fine art. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Creating concepts
Tax structuring
Corporate implementation, joint venture agreements
Senior and intra-group financing

Our combined expertise in corporate M&A, capital markets and real estate not only benefits our clients in real estate joint ventures, but also those with M&A projects in the field of real estate. Planning, completing and implementing real estate transactions requires an in-depth expertise in corporate law, tax structuring and financing. This applies most particularly if market players participating in a joint venture are listed companies. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Structuring M&A transactions
Creating optimised tax structures
Negotiating and drafting contracts for share deals and joint ventures
Drafting intra-group and senior financing documentation
Restructuring real estate companies

We provide both borrowers and lenders with comprehensive advice and support on all types of real estate financing, from simple standard contracts for single properties through to complex senior/mezzanine structures which comply with international standards. Our team has special expertise in the field of financing large-scale project developments, portfolio transactions and in the investment law aspects of real estate financing. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Drafting and negotiating loan agreements and collateral agreements
Syndication, debt restructuring, novation
Advisory services in the field of investment law
Optimising taxation

Over the years, we have gathered considerable expertise in the investment funds sector. This enables us to offer perfectly tailored support and advice to clients such as fund initiators, asset management companies, asset managers and investors. We have particular expertise in the following areas:

Establishing asset management companies, including AIFMs
Creating, structuring, managing and dissolving closed- and open-ended real estate funds
Outsourcing tasks to delegates of management companies
Drafting subscription agreements, delegation agreements and side letters
Offering legal advice on depositaries
Providing asset management companies with legal advice on regulatory and tax-related issues for international investments
Offering legal advice on regulatory and tax-related issues to various investor groups

Together with colleagues in our German offices, we can offer advice and support on both German and Luxembourg investment fund structures.