Jonathan Birks

Partner Debt Finance
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP

London T +44 20 7469 2070

M +44 78 1451 4301

Jonathan Birks

Practices

Overview

Jonathan is a partner in the debt finance practice at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP 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 - Real Estate Finance: clients observe he “is absolutely excellent to deal with. He is very personable, highly responsive, very commercial and able to easily pivot between the detail and big picture with an ability to quickly distil and summarise complex matters for a non-legal audience.” (2022)
  • The Legal 500 UK - Property Finance: clients remark that he is “a standout lawyer; he displays excellent technical skills and commercial pragmatism in equal measure. His ability to remain calm and genuinely good-humoured in the midst of the deal is particularly impressive and much appreciated” (2022)
  • IFLR1000 - Real Estate Finance: Recognised as a “Notable Practitioner” (2022)

  • 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 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 Kirkland & Ellis 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

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

  • Partner, 2014–2017
  • Senior Associate, 2010–2014
  • Associate, 2005–2010
  • Trainee Solicitor, 2003–2005

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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