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Property transactions “made by CMS Germany”

Our team specialises in all matters related to real estate transactions. This applies to all aspects of the acquisition, sale and financing of properties, both in the context of share deals and asset deals. We also support our clients with regard to asset management of their property portfolios.

The transactions on which we have advised in recent years have a total value of many billions of euro and include a range of headline deals.

Our "Real Estate service" portfolio

  •  Property transactions
    • Asset and share deals, individual or portfolio transactions as well as sale and leaseback
    • Buyer and seller due diligence
    • Design, negotiation and conclusion of leases
    • Design and negotiation of the LOI and purchase agreement
    • Support for completion
    • Tax structuring of the acquisition
  • Legal asset management
    • Strategic advice on restructuring the tenant portfolio
    • Legal advice on disputes with tenants
    • Legal support for conversions and refurbishments
    • Dividing up residential property and selling it off (notarial aspects in particular)
  • Real estate finance
    • Acquisition finance
    • Refinancing
    • Regulatory law issues
    • Negotiating with banks
  • Structuring real estate funds

How our expertise can help you

Our teams work across multiple locations, areas of law and national borders. Together with our comprehensive service portfolio, this means we always have the capacity required to ensure that large and time-critical transactions are handled promptly and efficiently.

What others say about us

"Frequently recommended law firm for real estate law, a leading player with regard to the key market trends."
(JUVE, 2012/2013) 


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07/08/2023
The new EU Deforestation Regulation – see the wood for the trees
The new EU Deforestation Regulation came into force in June 2023. It will apply from the end of 2024 and will no longer only relate to the timber trade.The aim of the EU Deforestation Regulation is to...
19/06/2023
CMS advises Akzo Nobel on sale of Schramm Coatings site in Offenbach to...
Düsseldorf – Schramm Holding GmbH, a subsidiary of Akzo Nobel Nederland N.V., one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints and coatings, has sold the site of the Schramm Coatings GmbH factory...
27/04/2023
CMS advises Merckle Group on acquisition of office complex from Demire
Stuttgart – Ulmer Posthöfe GmbH, part of the real estate arm of the Merckle Group, has acquired a Telekom property in Ulm from Demire. The property at Bahnhofplatz 2, Olgastraße 63 and 67 and Zeit­blom­straße...
05/04/2023
CMS advises 7-Industries on Series C financing round for space start-up...
Munich – Space start-up Isar Aerospace, developer and manufacturer of launch vehicles for transporting small and medium-sized satellites, has completed a Series C financing round of around EUR 155 million...
17/03/2023
CMS advised Tree Energy Solutions on its joint venture with Fortescue Future...
Hamburg – CMS has advised Tree Energy Solutions (TES) on its joint venture with Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) to develop the Wilhelmshaven energy import terminal. TES has found a new partner in...
22/12/2022
CMS advises Deutscher Sparkassenverlag on acquisition of new headquarters...
Stuttgart – The DSV Group, the central services provider of Spar­kassen-Fin­an­z­gruppe (Savings Banks Financial Group), has acquired two phases of the W2 Campus at Synergiepark in Stuttgart’s Vaihingen...
01/11/2022
Commercial rent payments in Germany
1. General overview
14/06/2022
CMS European Real Estate Deal Point Study 2022
Real estate investment markets remain stable whilst buyers continue to catch up in contractual risk allocation Logistics assets more popular than everDemand from international investors reaches record high accounting for 55% of deals, with most international investors still being from within EuropeIncreased desire for security on the part of sellers continued to be a feature in 2021: share of transactions in which the buyer's payment obligations are secured reaches another record high­Buy­er-friendly trend in contractual risk allocation continues as seller-friendly provisions on limitation of liability continue to declineThe European real estate investment market appears to have largely recovered from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Compared to the pan­dem­ic-stricken previous year, total investment increased by around 15% to approximately EUR 270 billion, marking a return to the pre-crisis level. Logistics assets performed particularly well last year, having become the focus of investors’ attention due to their stable income flows and the ongoing growth of online shopping. Demand from international investors was also up again in 2021, with intra-European transactions being the rule. 2021 also brought a new record high in the number of transactions in which the buyer's payment obligations were secured. With regard to contract design, the buyer-friendly trend continued, as reflected especially by a decrease in de minimis and basket clauses as well as caps. Logistics assets more popular than ever Office properties were a popular asset class in 2021 despite all the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, although some market share was lost to logistics and residential. The slight downward trend in office transactions handled by CMS seen in previous years nonetheless continued, with their share declining from 30% in 2020 to 19%. The reason for the declining proportion of transactions in the office segment is likely to be two-fold, combining the lack of available core properties and the current uncertainty around the impact of hybrid ways of working on demand for office space. The residential and logistics asset classes on the other hand were especially popular in 2021, each with a market share of 23%, compared to 22% and 19% respectively in 2020. One of the key factors for this trend was the stable income generated by residential and logistics properties, which is particularly attractive to investors. Logistics assets additionally benefited from the ongoing growth of online shopping, which was boosted recently by the COVID-19 pandemic and the related closure of retail shops, leading to an increased need for delivery and distribution centres. High demand from international, mostly intra-European, investors International investors were more active again last year: they accounted for 55% of deals in 2021, compared to 43% in 2020. In 2020, international investors had a difficult time, not least due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The associated travel restrictions meant that many international investors from other continents were forced to postpone their planned transactions. The property market seems to have recovered from these effects last year, with a new record 55% of transactions involving foreign investors. However, these foreign investors were mostly from within Europe; the number of intercontinental transactions remained below pre-pandemic levels in 2021. Sellers seek security An increased desire for security on the part of sellers continued to be a feature in 2021. The share of transactions in which steps were taken to ensure that the buyer met its financial obligations rose further in 2021. Sellers were granted security in more than two thirds of cases (70%). This trend is consistent with 2020, when an increased desire for security on the part of sellers was already apparent. In contrast, security was agreed in less than 50% of all transactions in the period from 2015 to 2018. The current high level is due in part to an increased desire for security on the part of sellers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; they were often uncertain about the buyer’s solvency going forward. Buyers continue to catch up in contractual risk allocation Buyers were able to catch up further in terms of contractual risk allocation. The proportion of transactions with seller-friendly de minimis clauses and basket clauses (i.e. clauses that provide for a threshold or minimum limit for guarantee claims by the buyer) stagnated or declined somewhat compared with the preceding years. In the previous year, after a noticeable decline, agreements aimed at limiting liability were made in 44% (de minimis clauses) and 41% (basket clauses) of cases. The share of deals with a basket clause fell further to 32% in 2021. As in 2020, a de minimis clause was included in 44% of the transactions analysed. A similar trend was seen in con­trac­tu­ally-agreed liability caps. Whilst the proportion of transactions with a cap was well over 60% in some cases in the years up to 2018, the percentage of agreements with a con­trac­tu­ally-agreed maximum liability fell slightly from 56% in 2020 to 50%.
07/03/2022
EU and UK Sanctions against Russia: a focus on the Financial Sector
In recent days the EU and the UK have adopted and expanded a number of sanctions measures against Russian and Belarusian individuals and companies. This article focuses on restrictive measures directed...
27/02/2022
Handling the new EU and UK sanctions against Russia
Since 2014, the EU and the UK have progressively imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the crisis in Ukraine. Following the latest events, both the EU and the UK, as well as many other countries...
20/12/2021
Coalition agreement: Green light for the real estate industry?
Germany’s new traffic-light coalition is taking shape. How will it affect the real estate industry?
20/12/2021
2021 traffic-light coalition – Impact of the coalition agreement
The “traffic-light” coalition comprising the SPD, the Greens and the FDP has now presented its coalition agreement for the period 2021 to 2025 in Berlin. The tripartite alliance is aiming to transform the social market economy into a so­cial-eco­lo­gic­al market economy by focusing on climate and digitalisation issues. At the press conference, the incoming government described it as the most extensive modernisation of the economy for more than a hundred years. We set out below how this is to be achieved, the opportunities arising for your company and the topics you need to be particularly aware of.