Clifford Chance has advised the New York investment company Madison International Realty on the establishment of a joint venture with the investment manager Peakside Capital for the acquisition of Frankfurt Airport Center 1 (FAC 1) and on the purchase itself.

Clifford Chance also advised on the subsequent acquisition financing via the new joint venture. The property is being sold by UBS Real Estate GmbH on behalf of its UBS (D) Euroinvest Immobilien fund. Peakside will take over the operational management of the property.

FAC 1 was built in 1988 and consists of two linked atria offering around 48,000 square metres of office and conference room space, along with 182 parking spaces. It is located at Frankfurt airport and allows direct access to Terminal 1 and the national/international train station. The property currently has more than 70 lessees, including Lufthansa, Fraport AG and Airport Club.

The US investor Madison International Realty is a leading provider of liquidity solutions for real estate investments. It is a passive investor specialising in providing liquidity to closed-end real estate fund investors. It has offices in New York, London and Frankfurt and currently has assets under management totalling around USD 3.1 billion.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Gerold Jaeger and comprised senior associate Dr. Sebastian Schmitt, associate Alexander Shemyakin (all Real Estate, Frankfurt), partner Dr. Uwe Schimmelschmidt and counsel Dr. Marie-Theres Rämer (both Tax, Frankfurt), partner Dr. Jörg Rhiel and senior associate Carmen Büker (both Corporate, Frankfurt), partner Marc Besen (Brussels/Düsseldorf), senior associate Dr. Dimitri Slobodenjuk and associate Caroline Slusarek (both Düsseldorf, all Antitrust) and partner Tobias Schulten and associate Jana Tschernig (both Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt). A team from the Luxembourg office led by partner Katia Gauzès (Corporate) and partner Marc Mehlen (Banking & Finance) also provided advice.