Freshfields has hit Ropes & Gray in London for a pair of private equity real estate partners.
David Seymour and Will Bryant have both spent more than a decade at Ropes, where they worked with clients including Sixth Street, Bain Capital Real Estate and the Baupost Group.
They focus on cross-border transactions, advising European and global private equity real estate funds, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and family offices across all types of real estate investments, assets and businesses.
Freshfields’ head of global real estate, Niko Schultz-Suechting, said: “With an increasingly diversified market, real estate is the biggest asset class in the private capital space.
“We continue to see an increase in the complexity and cross-border nature of real estate transactions which we are advising on. The appointments of David and Will enhance our strength in London as well as our global capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients.”
Seymour and Bryant’s industry experience includes data centres, logistics, major retail and social and educational investments. Both practised as associates at Slaughter and May before joining Ropes in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
At Freshfields, they will be expected to work closely with Alexander Watt, co-head of Freshfields’ global real assets, as well as Schultz-Suechting and UK PE head James Scott.
Watt pointed to the duo’s experience advising European and international investors.
“David and Will join us at a pivotal moment when we look to expand our global offering across the full range of private capital and strategic investors in the real estate sector,” Watt added.
The duo’s arrival will bring Freshfields’ London real estate team to six partners, according to the firm’s website. It follows corporate real estate partner Roger Schofield defecting to Fried Frank last September, and comes just a month after private equity partner Helen Croke left Ropes’ London office for White & Case.
More broadly, Freshfields has been investing in its private capital offering, bringing on infrastructure partners Jessamy Gallagher and Stuart Rowson from Paul Hastings in London in February, followed by finance partner Ally McKechnie in May.
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