Todd (吴拓) is a Partner in our Commercial Real Estate team with over 10 years of experience.
Todd specialises in high value real estate investment and complex development transactions. He has a particular expertise in development schemes transacted on a forward funding or forward purchase basis, having acted on over £1bn of such transactions across the build to rent, purpose built student accommodation (PBSA), logistics and office sectors. His clients include major institutional funds and listed developers across these sectors.
In addition, as a native Mandarin speaker, Todd regularly assists Chinese state-owned enterprises and private-owned enterprises as well as family offices from mainland China and Hong Kong. He has often worked with clients from Asia on their early investments into the local jurisdiction, and is experienced in advising Asian investors on a broad spectrum of their legal needs – ranging from the initial incorporation of local subsidiaries through to completion of the relevant transaction.
Key Experience
Residential / Build to Rent
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Representing PGIM Real Estate on the acquisition of the Project Domus portfolio of 918 single family housing units from Goldman Sachs for a reported value of £175m, which was the largest operational SFH deal in the UK market to date
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Acting for Watkin Jones on the £155m forwarding funding of BTR scheme Loft Lines, Belfast which involves the delivery of 778 mixed tenure units to be funded by Legal & General
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Advising a listed specialist BTR developer on the forward funding of a mixed use scheme in Hove with a major UK pension fund, and separately on the forward sale of a BTR development in Leicester to an institutional asset manager
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Acting for a FTSE listed national house builder on a complex over-station development deal with TfL for a mixed use scheme of over 400 residential units and commercial space above a Crossrail station
Purpose Built Student Accomodation (PBSA)
- Advising a listed developer on a portfolio sale of five PBSA schemes (totalling over 2,000 beds) to a PE fund which included three development schemes to be built out on a forward funding basis and two standing investment assets
- Acted for an EPL football club on a complex over-station development transaction with TfL and subsequent disposal of the site to a PBSA developer and negotiations with that developer's forward funder
Logistics and industrial
- Advising an overseas listed REIT on a series of transactions across the UK including the acquisition and subsequent development pre-let of "mega hubs" to some of the world's largest e-commerce and distribution tenants as well as disposals of major warehouses and distribution centres to institutional funds pursuant to forward funding arrangements
Office and retail
- Representing an UK insurance fund on the forward funding of an office development and simultaneous pre-let to a government tenant
- Acting for a Hong Kong based investor on the acquisition of mixed-use assets in Mayfair for a value over £150 million and related financing
Energy and infrastructure
- Acting for a global infrastructure investor on the successful bid for a major oil & gas project in the North Sea for a reported value in excess of £1 billion
- Advising on the sale of a major London airport for a reported valued of circa £2 billion
- Acting for an EPL football club on a battery storage project at the club’s stadium which was the largest of its kind at any sports stadium in the world
Career History
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Managing Associate (Australian qualified), Mishcon de Reya LLP
Associate (Australian qualified), Slaughter and May, London
Associate, Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Sydney
Graduate Lawyer (trainee), Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Sydney
The University of Sydney, Bachelor of Laws (Hons)
The University of Sydney, Bachelor of Commerce (Finance major)