Home / People / Dr Stefan Gerster

Dr Stefan Gerster, LL.M., MRICS

Partner
Certified Specialist SBA Construction and Real Estate Law

Stefan Gerster

Dr Stefan Gerster, LL.M., MRICS

Partner
Certified Specialist SBA Construction and Real Estate Law

Contact
T +41 44 285 11 11
F +41 44 285 11 22
CMS von Erlach Poncet Ltd.
Dreikönigstrasse 7
P.O. Box
8022 Zurich
Switzerland
Languages German, English, French

Stefan Gerster is a partner with CMS Zurich since 2001. His practice focuses mainly on real estate law. He is the head of our internal practice group Real Estate & Construction.

Among the clients of Stefan Gerster are Swiss and foreign institutional real estate investors, companies with corporate real estate matters and individuals. He provides advice in real estate transactions, including acquisition and financing as well as the sale of real estate. In addition, he has many years of experience in portfolio transactions, investments in hotels, shopping and entertainment centres as well as real estate development projects.

In 1996 Stefan Gerster worked as a foreign associate in a major US law firm. He has been with CMS Zurich since 1991. He is one of the first lawyers to receive the title Certified Specialist SBA Construction and Real Estate Law.

more less

The real estate team at CMS focuses heavily on transactions, disputes and the development of shopping malls, hotels, retail buildings, offices and residential property. [...] Stefan Gerster advised Credit Suisse Investment Foundation on the development of Zurich-based Project Pergamin II, including handling the acquisition of land and the construction of the residential complex.

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2019

Interviewees state that the highly-regarded Stefan Gerster is "very well known and has a good network." He gains particular recognition for his expertise advising investors on property purchase agreements. He is adept at handling transactions related to hotels, residential developments and leisure facilities.

Chambers and Partners, Real Estate, Switzerland, 2019

CMS is ‘driven by long-standing client relationships, which make for very effective collaboration’. The practice covers real estate transactions, developments, financing and litigation matters and packs a particular punch in assisting with hotel transactions, related management agreements and construction projects. The team advised Sunrise Communications on the sale of more than 2,000 telecommunication towers in Switzerland. Another key client is Swiss Prime Site, whom the group recently assisted with acquiring two campus facilities near Lake Geneva and in the Canton Valais per share deal. Team lead Stefan Gerster is recommended.

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2018

Stefan Gerster has a market-leading reputation among commentators, with one lauding his "long-standing and broad expertise in Swiss real estate law," and adding that "he has a very pragmatic approach to resolving matters, advising clients so they have a solution," and has "an excellent network." He excels in real estate transactions, with expertise in relation to hotel and retail developments. He assisted Credit Suisse Anlagestiftung with the purchase of land and subsequent construction of a residential development in Zürich.

Chambers and Partners, Real Estate, Switzerland, 2018

“At CMS, Stefan Gerster and his team have extensive experience in hotel transactions and management agreements. Other recent work includes advising Acron regarding the acquisition of a shopping centre in St Gallen. Credit Suisse and SPS Immobilien are also clients.”

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2015

The real estate team at CMS focuses heavily on transactions, disputes and the development of shopping malls, hotels, retail buildings, offices and residential property. [...] Stefan Gerster advised Credit Suisse Investment Foundation on the development of Zurich-based Project Pergamin II, including handling the acquisition of land and the construction of the residential complex.

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2019

Interviewees state that the highly-regarded Stefan Gerster is "very well known and has a good network." He gains particular recognition for his expertise advising investors on property purchase agreements. He is adept at handling transactions related to hotels, residential developments and leisure facilities.

Chambers and Partners, Real Estate, Switzerland, 2019

CMS is ‘driven by long-standing client relationships, which make for very effective collaboration’. The practice covers real estate transactions, developments, financing and litigation matters and packs a particular punch in assisting with hotel transactions, related management agreements and construction projects. The team advised Sunrise Communications on the sale of more than 2,000 telecommunication towers in Switzerland. Another key client is Swiss Prime Site, whom the group recently assisted with acquiring two campus facilities near Lake Geneva and in the Canton Valais per share deal. Team lead Stefan Gerster is recommended.

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2018

Stefan Gerster has a market-leading reputation among commentators, with one lauding his "long-standing and broad expertise in Swiss real estate law," and adding that "he has a very pragmatic approach to resolving matters, advising clients so they have a solution," and has "an excellent network." He excels in real estate transactions, with expertise in relation to hotel and retail developments. He assisted Credit Suisse Anlagestiftung with the purchase of land and subsequent construction of a residential development in Zürich.

Chambers and Partners, Real Estate, Switzerland, 2018

“At CMS, Stefan Gerster and his team have extensive experience in hotel transactions and management agreements. Other recent work includes advising Acron regarding the acquisition of a shopping centre in St Gallen. Credit Suisse and SPS Immobilien are also clients.”

The Legal 500, Real estate and construction, Switzerland, 2015

Relevant experience

  • Advising Allianz Suisse regarding the acquisition of a development project concerning approx. 260 apartments in Winterthur.
  • Advising Allianz Suisse in connection with re-positioning and complete overhaul of an office building in the central business district of Zurich (approx. 14,000 sqm).
  • Advising the Pension Fund of the Canton of Zurich (BVK) in connection with the sale of the landmark building “Neue Börse” (Zurich), i.e. sale of a ground lease.
  • Advising Credit Suisse Investment Foundation in connection with the development and sale of a mixed-use residential, office, retail and hotel project in Zurich.
  • Advising Credit Suisse Investment Foundation regarding a portfolio transaction (asset swap) concerning nine commercial and residential buildings in seven cantons.
  • Advising co-owners of Sihlcity (a new “district” for shopping, residential, office, leisure), especially during the acquisition and construction phase and regarding ongoing operations.
  • Advising Swiss Prime Investment Foundation re acquisition of a start portfolio of 7 properties situated in 6 cantons and purchase of other real estate.
  • Advising investor regarding acquisition of a logistics building in the Canton of Aargau (distribution centre of a major Swiss retailer).
  • Advising a global IT company regarding the expansion of its Swiss offices (approx. 50,000 sqm, 3,000–4,000 additional work stations) at Europaallee near Zurich main station.
  • Advising investor regarding the acquisition of a new office building in Basel, used as a new headquarter of an international company.
  • Advising Swiss and foreign institutional investors in connection with the acquisition of properties in Switzerland, including commercial, logistic and hotel properties as well as sale & rent back transactions.
more less

Education

  • 2009 Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS)
  • 2007 Fachanwalt SAV Bau- und Immobilienrecht, Universität Fribourg
  • 1997 Master of Laws, LL.M., University of Miami, USA, School of Law
  • 1993 Anwaltspatent, Zürich
  • 1991 Rechtsstudium, Dr. iur., magna cum laude, Universität Zürich
more less

Memberships

  • Zurich Bar Association (ZAV)
  • Swiss Bar Association (SAV)
  • Kammer der Fachanwälte SAV Bau- und Immobilienrecht
  • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
  • Swiss Circle
more less

Publications

  • CMS Newsletter Immobilien Änderung des Raumplanungsgesetzes (RPG), 03/2013
  • CMS Newsletter Immobilien Zweitwohnungen, 09/2012
  • CMS Newsletter Immobilien Erdbebensicherheit, 07/2012
  • CMS Newsletter Register-Schuldbrief, 07/2011
  • Der Reiz des Besonderen, Finanz und Wirtschaft, 07/2011
  • Institutionelle Investoren als Bauherren, Modulor Magazin, 02/2009
  • Leichtere Übertragung von Immo-Pakteten, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 15/11/2005
  • Wie ein Abschluss per Handschlag, Immobilien Business, 06/2004
more less

Lectures list

  • Universität Zürich, CUREM (Center for Urban Real Estate Management am Swiss Banking Institute der Universität Zürich, (www.curem.ch), Themen „Immobilienkaufrecht“ und „Legal Due Diligence“ (seit dem ersten Lehrgang)
  • ACADEMY for Best Execution GmbH, various lectures
more less

Expertise

October 2018
CMS European Real Es­tate Deal Point Study 2018
The European in­vest­ment mar­ket once again had a very strong year. At EUR 234 bn, total in­vest­ment volume was only 3% be­low the re­cord level seen in 2015. This fig­ure also rep­res­ents an in­crease of 7% year-on-year.In ad­di­tion to the on­go­ing lack of al­tern­at­ive in­vest­ment op­por­tun­it­ies, along with fa­vour­able fin­an­cing con­di­tions, the pos­it­ive eco­nom­ic en­vir­on­ment in Europe was the primary reas­on be­hind the high de­mand for real es­tate in­vest­ment. Fall­ing un­em­ploy­ment fig­ures, buoy­ant con­sumer sen­ti­ment and rising GDP boos­ted con­fid­ence in 2017, par­tic­u­larly among in­ter­na­tion­al in­vestors, and drove up their in­vest­ment activ­ity. Des­pite the un­cer­tain out­come of the on­go­ing EU exit ne­go­ti­ations, the UK also re­mained at­tract­ive for in­vestors. Lim­ited sup­ply ac­ted as a con­straint, how­ever. The res­ult­ing fur­ther in­crease in real es­tate prices has led to his­tor­ic­ally low yields in some cases. Rather than caus­ing in­vestors to aban­don the real es­tate mar­ket, the fo­cus has switched to spe­cial­ist prop­er­ties which of­fer high­er yields than tra­di­tion­al of­fice and re­tail as­sets. In par­tic­u­lar, health­care fa­cil­it­ies, ho­tels and stu­dent apart­ments have all come to the fore. The ex­ist­ing ex­cess de­mand also triggered a sig­ni­fic­ant rise in the num­ber of trans­ac­tions in­volving de­vel­op­ment pro­jects.The con­sist­ently pos­it­ive trend has con­tin­ued in 2018. The latest fig­ures from the first half of the year sup­port the view that des­pite the trade dis­pute with the US and a pos­sible end to low in­terest rates, a down­turn in the European in­vest­ment mar­ket is un­likely this year. The con­fid­ence of in­vestors in real es­tate as an in­vest­ment re­mains in­tact.The new CMS European Real Es­tate Deal Point Study 2018 now in­cludes more than 1,300 trans­ac­tions. Com­pil­ing the study in­volved com­par­ing the trans­ac­tions on which we ad­vised in the peri­od 2010 to 2017, en­abling us to high­light de­vel­op­ments and trends.If you are in­ter­ested in re­ceiv­ing a copy of the full re­port, please get in touch with Dr Volk­er Zerr.
Publication

Feed

Show only
07 May 2020
The COV­ID-19-Or­din­ance Rent and Lease
Als Un­ter­stützungs­mass­nahme für Mieter und Pächter hat der Bundes­rat am 27. März 2020 die Ver­or­d­nung über die Abfe­der­ung der Aus­wirkun­gen des Coronavir­us im Miet- und Pacht­wesen (COV­ID-19-Ver­or­d­nung Miete und Pacht, nachfol­gend "Ver­or­d­nung") ver­ab­schiedet
Publication Coronavirus (COVID-19)
15 April 2020
New rank­ings from "The Leg­al 500" for CMS Switzer­land
News Insurance
12 March 2020
Top-Rank­ings for CMS Switzer­land by Cham­bers and Part­ners
Wir freuen uns mit­teilen zu können, dass 14 un­ser­er An­wäl­tinnen und An­wälte in 10 Rechts­ge­bi­eten in der im März 2020 ver­öf­fent­licht­en Aus­gabe von Cham­bers and Part­ners Europe em­pfohlen wer­den.
News Competition & EU
16 April 2019
CMS Switzer­land fur­ther im­proves its rank­ing with The Leg­al 500
We are de­lighted to an­nounce that 12 prac­tice areas of CMS Switzer­land have been re­com­men­ded in this year's edi­tion of Leg­al500, pub­lished in April 2019.
News Life Sciences & Healthcare
07 March 2019
Top rank­ings for CMS Switzer­land by Cham­bers and Part­ners
CMS Switzer­land is de­lighted to an­nounce that 14 law­yers across 10 prac­tice areas have been re­com­men­ded in the 2019 edi­tion of Cham­bers & Part­ners Europe, pub­lished in March 2019.
News Competition & EU
October 2018
CMS European Real Es­tate Deal Point Study 2018
The European in­vest­ment mar­ket once again had a very strong year. At EUR 234 bn, total in­vest­ment volume was only 3% be­low the re­cord level seen in 2015. This fig­ure also rep­res­ents an in­crease of 7% year-on-year.
Publication Real Estate & Construction
23/05/2018
CMS ad­vises CCC Group on the ac­quis­i­tion of the ma­jor­ity stake in Karl...
Zurich – The CCC Group has signed an agree­ment to ac­quire 70% of the shares in Karl Vögele AG, Uzn­ach. Sim­ul­tan­eously, Max Manuel Vögele..
Deal (News) Corporate / M&A
September 2017
CMS European Real Es­tate Deal Point Study 2017
The European in­vest­ment mar­ket con­tin­ued to per­form well after the pre­vi­ous re­cord-break­ing years. In 2016, total in­vest­ment volume was around EUR 230bn, less than 10% be­low the re­cord amount of the pre­vi­ous year...
Guide
14/10/2010
CMS Real Es­tate Team at Ex­poR­eal 2010
News