Ashurst advised Societe Generale on the financing of the acquisition of 2,600 residential and 110 commercial units by real estate investor Velero Partners. The portfolio with a total size of 173,000 square meters generates an annual net cold rent of €9.2 million. The objects are mainly located in the NRW region cities of Essen, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Bochum. The parties have agreed not to disclose the identity of the seller, the financing volume and the purchase price.

The Ashurst team was led by Frankfurt-based finance partner Derk Opitz and Munich-based finance counsel Christiane Bestgen. Partners Dr Hendrik Theismann (real estate) and Jan Krekeler (corporate) also advised, assisted by the associates Dr. Jan Ulrich Heinemann and Emilie Veyran-Müller and transaction manager Anna Jevsejeva (all finance) as well as by senior associate Michael Mehler (real estate) and the associates Anna-Maria Krekeler (corporate) and Carina Park (tax, all Frankfurt).

Societe Generale and Ashurst continue their successful collaboration with this transaction. Most recently, Ashurst advised the bank in July 2016 on financing the acquisition of care home portfolio 'Panacea' by French asset management company Primonial REIM. The acquisition of 68 retirement and nursing homes was one of the largest real estate transactions in 2016.