Profile details
About Fernando Soto
Fernando co-leads the global transactions group in Spain.
He advises on acquisitions of real estate companies, portfolios of properties and NPLs, loan-to-own transactions, sale and leasebacks, real estate joint ventures, leases, hotel management agreements, acquisitions out of insolvencies and restructuring of real estate companies.
He acts for the largest investors in the Spanish real estate sector: KKR, KKH Property Investors, Lazora/Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, Merlin Properties SOCIMI, MSREF, Dalian Wanda Group, Lar España Real Estate and PIMCO.
He works for all the major SOCIMIs in Spain, ie Hispania Activos Inmobiliarios, Merlin Properties SOCIMI and Lar España Real Estate, assisting them in all aspects of their transactions including corporate legal advice as well as on pure acquisition mandates.
From April to July 2012 Fernando was seconded to our London office.
He speaks Spanish and English.
Recent work
- Advising Topland Group on its joint venture with Eroski and Inmobiliaria Gonuri Harizartean (IGH) on the sale of a portfolio of eleven hypermarkets and three associated commercial galleries located in the Basque Country and Navarra to Invesco Real Estate European Fund, and the simultaneous lease of the hypermarkets by Eroski Sociedad Cooperativa and simultaneous execution by Eroski of management agreements over the commercial galleries (value €358m).
- Assisting Lar España Real Estate Socimi and PIMCO on the €120m acquisition of a development in calle Juan Bravo 3, Madrid, and a residential building in calle Claudio Coello 108, Madrid and ongoing planning issues.
- Advising KKR on its joint venture with Neinver for the acquisition of ‘Nassica’ shopping centre in Getafe (Madrid) and ‘Vista Alegre’ retail park in Zamora (Castilla y León) and the subsequent sale of both shopping centres.
- Assisting Dalian Wanda Group on the acquisition of emblematic building Edificio España, in Madrid, from the Santander Group (value €265m).
- Advising JP Morgan Securities (and affiliates) on the acquisition of the portfolio of Spanish and Portuguese loan receivables from the Madrid branch of Hypothekenbank Frankfurt, an affiliate of Commerzbank with an outstanding balance of approx €4.5bn.
Qualifications
Education
- Degree in Law from ICADE, Madrid
Additional responsibilities
- He has lectured on real estate financing, lease of shopping centres and development and construction law in the Spanish Business School Instituto de Empresa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, IFAES-International Faculty for Executives and ISDE Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía, a legal training center attached to the Complutense University of Madrid.