Morrison & Foerster Continues to Grow its London Platform with the Addition of Market-Leading Private Equity Real Estate Practice

LONDON (January 22, 2019) – Morrison & Foerster, a leading global law firm, is pleased to announce that Oliver s’Jacob has joined the firm’s London office as a partner in its global Private Equity Real Estate (PERE) practice. With the arrival of Mr. s’Jacob, Morrison & Foerster has expanded its global real estate practice to London, further strengthening its growing global offering. Mr. s’Jacob comes to Morrison & Foerster from Reed Smith, where he chaired their European Private Equity Real Estate practice. The addition of Mr. s’Jacob follows the arrival in late 2017 of Florian Ehrich, who joined to build out the real estate practice in Germany. 

“Real estate investment has become increasingly global, and Europe is an important location for many PERE players, including many key clients,” said Eric Piesner, Asia managing partner and one of the global leaders of the PERE practice. “I’m delighted that, with Oliver joining us in London, we are able to offer our clients this additional sophisticated real estate expertise in Europe, and look forward to Oliver spearheading further growth in the real estate space in Europe.”

“It has been a strategic priority for us to build complex real estate capability in London as a next step to serving our clients’ needs throughout Europe,” said Paul Friedman, Morrison & Foerster’s managing partner for Europe. “Oliver’s practice is a great fit for us and will complement our existing real estate offering in Germany, and globally. We are thrilled to welcome him to our London office.”

Mr. s’Jacob’s practice focuses on complex transactions in the real estate sector. His experience spans joint ventures, club deals, fund formation and restructuring, investment management mandates, major development transactions, and strategic M&A and private equity deals involving real estate assets or real estate-intensive businesses. Mr s’Jacob represents a range of clients including some of the world’s largest private equity real estate firms, as well as hedge and other alternative investment funds, their operating partners, developers, sovereign investors, public pension plans, REITs and listed property funds. His work is often cross-border and his experience covers real estate investment transactions in the UK, continental Europe and the Middle East, India and Africa.

Mr. s’Jacob’s recent notable transactions include advising joint ventures between Oaktree Capital and PATRIZIA Immobilien on their acquisition and subsequent disposal of a large portfolio of UK business parks and industrial estates; Starwood Capital on a three-way joint venture with StepStone Real Estate and Round Hill Capital to acquire a portfolio of residential properties in Germany; a New York-headquartered investment fund in relation to the development of a new W Hotel in Rome, Italy through a joint venture with Omnam Group and a real estate fund managed by Kryalos SGR; M7 Real Estate on its establishment of two country-specific real estate funds; and Lendlease on the winding-up of one of its managed real estate funds.

“Morrison & Foerster’s Private Equity Real Estate practice is truly global, which makes it an ideal platform for me and my clients,” said Mr. s’Jacob. “The firm’s commitment to Europe also means it’s an exciting time for me to join. I look forward to contributing to the growing success of the firm’s global PERE and Real Estate practices, by expanding our practice in London and more broadly in Europe.”

Mr. s’Jacob is qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales.