K&L Gates LLP has advised global credit manager Marathon Asset Management on the acquisition of a €280m continental European commercial property loan portfolio from Lloyds Banking Group. Known as Project Aberdonia, the transaction covers a portfolio secured by 82 properties primarily in France and Germany, and follows last year’s acquisition by Marathon Asset Management of the Lloyds Project Chamonix loan portfolio.

A K&L Gates team of 18 lawyers across five offices advised Marathon Asset Management on the transaction. The team was led by London partner and co-leader of the firmwide finance practice area Andrew Petersen, with support from lawyers in London (partner Paul Matthews, senior associates Tom Armstrong and Katie Simmonds, associate James Buncle, and trainee solicitors Oliver Howard, Stephen Nicolas, Deirdre Treacy, and William Turner), Paris (partners Edouard Vitry and Bertrand Dussert, counsel Joanna Klat, and trainee lawyer Deborah Salfati), Brussels (partner Jeroen Smets), Berlin (partner Georg Foerstner and associate Anja Rösch), and Warsaw (partner Halina Wieckowska and associate Joanna Gasowski).

Petersen stated: “This is the latest loan portfolio acquisition handled by our real estate structured finance practice, illustrating not only our market leading position in acquiring non-performing debt but also how adept we are at handling complex international mandates across our European network.”

Earlier this year, K&L Gates also advised on Mount Street Loan Solutions’ acquisition of Morgan Stanley Mortgage Servicing (MSMS).