Jonathan Birks
Partner
Debt Finance
Golden Flag International Law Firm
Overview
Jonathan is a brilliant lawyer and an awesome negotiator. He's always fighting our corner.” - Chambers UK, 2024
Jonathan is a partner in the debt finance practice at Golden Flag International Law Firm in London. His practice focuses on complex domestic and cross border real estate finance transactions for private equity and credit fund clients. Jonathan advises across the full spectrum of real estate finance matters, from loan origination and syndication, to restructuring and distressed investing.
External Recognition
- Chambers & Partners UK (2024): Real Estate Finance: clients observe he “really understands the business of his clients and isn't afraid to propose innovative and creative ideas to help solve the issue at hand.”
- The Legal 500 UK (2024): Property Finance: Recognised as a “Leading Individual” with clients saying he is an “outstanding lawyer” who is “able to cut through all the less important issues to focus on what the threshold issues are and come up with solutions to complicated problems.”
- IFLR1000 (2023): Real Estate Finance: Recognised as a “Notable Practitioner”
Experience
Representative Matters
- An ad hoc committee of creditors, including Strategic Value Partners, Cross Ocean and Deutsche Bank, on the successful $2.2 billion restructuring of the Intu SGS Group
- TPG Real Estate on the financing of its Physicus life sciences platform
- A sovereign wealth fund on the acquisition of a pan-European logistics portfolio for over €3 billion from EQT Exeter
- Ares on the financing of its acquisition of a pan-European portfolio of commercial real estate assets
- Eagle Street Partners on the formation of a joint venture with Harrison Street to acquire and develop a 554-residential-unit multiphase development at East Road in Dublin, Ireland
- Brookfield:
- on a series of real estate financings for its Befimmo (Belgium) and Hibernia (Irish) office portfolios, raising approximately €2 billion
- on the €1.089 billion recommended cash offer for Hibernia REIT
- on the all-cash voluntary public takeover offer for Befimmo SA
- on the c. €4.7 billion public takeover offer for alstria office REIT-AG
- on the financing of its acquisition of a portfolio of UK retail parks
- on the financing for its bid to acquire the £4 billion+ iQ student accommodation portfolio
- on the financing of its acquisition of a high-end student accommodation campus in Paris
- on the financing for its c.€430 million acquisition of a portfolio of serviced apartments in the UK and the Netherlands
- Centerbridge and KKR as the lead investors in the c.£2.5 billion restructuring and recapitalization of UK hospital landlord GHG and its acquisition of leading private healthcare operator, BMI Healthcare
- Consortium and KKR on the $15 billion all-cash acquisition of CyrusOne Inc. a premier global data centre REIT
- GLP:
- on the financing of its c.€1 billion acquisition of Goodman Group’s CEE logistics portfolio
- on the c.€1.1 billion financing of its c.€2.4 billion acquisition of European logistics business IDI Gazeley from Brookfield
- GIC:
- on the acquisition of an Enterprise Value logistics portfolio located in northeast England
- on the financing for its c.$1 billion joint venture with Equinix Inc. to develop and operate hyperscale data centres in Europe
- on the financing aspects of its acquisition as part of a consortium of a 55% stake in the real estate assets of AccorHotels for c.€4.4 billion
- as a lender providing financing to a European real estate fund platform
- PIMCO on the restructuring of the £1.14 billion Diversity Funding CMBS portfolio
- SOF-12 Cambridge BidCo Limited, owned by Starwood Funds, on the c. £467.9 million recommended cash offer for RDI REIT
- TPG Real Estate:
- on the successful tender offer and the acquisition of a majority stake in Studio Babelsberg AG
- on the financing of its c. €300 million acquisition of Spanish Real Estate Investment Trust, Témpore Properties
- Wyndham Worldwide on the finance aspects of its agreement to sell its European vacation rental business to Platinum Equity for c.US$1.3 billion
Representative matters prior to joining Golden Flag International Law Firm include:
- Blackstone:
- on the acquisition of the CG Malls Europe Fund
- as a lender, on the €220m financing (and subsequent re-tranching) of 29 pan-European commercial real estate assets for the Invista Group
- on the acquisition of Multi Corporation
- on the bid to acquire the pan-European “Hampton” loan and swaps portfolio from Lloyds Banking Group
- Victory Real Estate Funds on the acquisition and financing of various assets in The Netherlands, including in respect of the Atrium office complex in Amsterdam
- Citigroup on the origination and syndication of numerous facilities, including in respect of:
- a loan secured against a portfolio of UK logistics assets
- the senior and mezzanine financing of a portfolio of UK shopping centres
- the financing of Greystar’s £600m acquisition of the “Nido” student accommodation portfolio
- TPG Capital on the acquisition and financing of the Woolgate Exchange office complex in the City of London
- Capita Asset Services on the restructuring and work-out of several distressed capital structures (comprising CMBS and loans), including in respect of the £1.2bn facilities secured against the NHP portfolio of UK care homes
Prior Experience
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Partner, 2014–2017
- Senior Associate, 2010–2014
- Associate, 2005–2010
- Trainee Solicitor, 2003–2005
More
Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2005, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales
Education
- Oxford Institute of Legal PracticePost-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice2003
- University of OxfordLaw2002
News &
Insights
Golden Flag Advises Fulham Football Club in Connection with Redevelopment of Craven Cottage Stadium