Alexander Watt

About Alexander Watt

Alex is head of our global real estate sector group and jointly leads the firm’s sovereign wealth funds group.

Alex has extensive experience of corporate real estate matters and he regularly advises clients on property investment and co-investment through complex cross-border structures.

His long-standing clients include private equity houses, funds, institutional investors and some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.

Recent work

• Advising Thomas White Oxford (the development company of St John’s College, Oxford) on the formation of a c.£700m development joint venture with Canadian-based Cadillac Fairview and Stanhope for the development of Oxford North, Oxford, UK - a new global innovation district, which will primarily focus on life sciences with almost a million square feet of laboratory and work space, as well as 480 new homes.
• Advising Brookfield on the acquisition from U+I Group of a 50 per cent stake in Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, including an extensive land bank for development.
• Advising Ares Management in respect of its acquisition and financing and subsequent sale of a stake to Investec in a 40 property pan-European logistics platform, for a headline price of €900m.
• Advising Oxford University on its ten-year joint venture programme with L&G to develop research facilities and student and staff accommodation at the University and on the funding and leaseback arrangements with L&G for the new Life and Mind Building.
• Advising Americold Realty Trust on the acquisition of Argo Merchants Group, the global cold storage business, from an investor group led funds managed by Oaktree Capital Management for US $1.74bn and on its bolt on acquisition of Bowman Stores Limited for £74m.
• Advising Ares Management on the establishment of a joint venture in respect of a pan-European logistics platform with an asset manager, and securing exclusivity on a pipeline of seed assets across Europe;
• Advising Blackstone on the regearing and subsequent sale of seven holiday parks in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, leased to Pierre and Vacances.
• Advising Brookfield on their entry into the German residential market by way of an acquisition from a German residential asset manager of a majority 89.9% stake in a portfolio of German residential housing assets with residential units across Germany, together with their go-forward joint venture and management arrangements.
• Advising TPG on the acquisition from Goodman Group, financing and subsequent disposal to Brookfield for £714m of the Arlington Business Parks Platform. Arlington is a UK business park platform focussing on space for life science and technology based tenants, made up of 36 assets across sites in Oxford, Cambridge and London which are a mix of standing and development assets.