Kazik F. Michalski
Partner
Debt Finance
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Overview
He is exceptional in every aspect of his work. His level of sophistication is evident in the way he handles complex transactions, where his commercial awareness is particularly impressive. - Chambers UK, 2026
Kazik F. Michalski is a partner in the debt finance practice at Kirkland & Ellis International LLP in London. He represents top-tier private equity sponsors in connection with complex domestic and cross-border credit transactions involving real estate, data centres and digital infrastructure throughout Europe.
External Recognition
- Chambers & Partners UK – Real Estate Finance – Ranked as Band 3 (2026):
- “He's a very strong lawyer that gets the bigger picture and finds a solution, even for complex issues.”
- Chambers & Partners UK – Real Estate Finance – Ranked as Band 5 (2024):
- “He's a very strong lawyer that gets the bigger picture and finds a solution, even for complex issues.”
- The Legal 500 UK – Property Finance as a Leading Lawyer: Testimonials (2020–2026):
- “Exceptional lawyer.”
- “Kazik Michalski is disciplined, calm and motivated with a can-do attitude.”
- “Kirkland & Ellis International LLP‘s ‘truly exceptional‘ property finance practice is particularly strong in the private equity arena.”
- “I have worked very closely with Kazik Michalski and his team over the past 24 months and I don’t think our transaction would have completed without him. He’s extremely diligent, thorough, creative, and commercial.”
- “I have a particularly high opinion of Kazik Michalski, and he is undoubtedly the best finance lawyer I have ever worked with. Kazik’s unique combination of sharp intellect and deal intuition makes him an indispensable part of our legal advisory team on large and complex deals.”
- IFLR1000 UK: Recognised as a notable practitioner in Banking (Real Estate Sector) (2024)
- Law.com International UK: Rising Star: Europe's Best Up-and-Coming Private Equity Lawyers (2022)
Experience
Representative Matters
Since joining Kirkland, Kazik undertook the following matters:
Data Centres and Digital Infrastructure
- CyrusOne on the upsize and extension of their pan-European and UK facilities for an aggregate amount exceeding more than €1.8 billion equivalent
- KKR and GIP on the $15 billion all-cash acquisition of CyrusOne Inc. a premier global data centre REIT
- Equinix and GIC on the €1.5 billion refinancing of a portfolio of xScale™ data centres across Germany, France, Poland and Spain
- GIC:
- on its $525 million joint venture with Equinix to develop and operate two xScale™ data centres in South Korea
- on its $3.9 billion additional joint ventures with Equinix to expand the xScale™ data centre programme
- on the over $1 billion financing with Equinix to develop and operate xScale™ data centres in Japan
- on the financing for its $1 billion joint venture with Equinix Inc. to develop and operate hyperscale data centres throughout Europe
- Global Technical Realty on the acquisition financing of a London data center at more than £1 billion
- ADA Infrastructure and GLP Capital Partners on the land bridge financing of a site for a data center located in the Docklands, London
- Macquarie Asset Management on the strategic real estate partnership with NTT’s wholesale facilities across Europe and North America
Real Estate
- Blackstone:
- on the £2.9 billion refinancing of its Haven portfolio of UK holiday parks
- on the financing of its acquisition of Bourne Leisure, which operates Butlin’s, Haven and Warner Leisure Hotels
- on the financing of its acquisition of National Exhibition Centre (NEC) Group, a leading live events venue operator in the UK
- and the consortium consisting of Scape Living and iQSA on the £969 million recommended cash offer for GCP Student Living plc
- on the c. £1.2 billion recommended cash offer for St Modwen Properties plc
- on the refinancing of a prime central London office property
- on the £4.66 billion acquisition of iQ Student Accommodation
- on the recommended £4.77 billion cash offer for publicly traded Merlin Entertainments, a global leader in location-based, family entertainment
- British Land and GIC on the financing of Paddington Central, UK valued circa £1 billion
- Brookfield:
- on the financing of residential assets acquired under its €1.089 billion recommended cash offer for Hibernia REIT
- on the financing of office assets acquired under its €1.089 billion recommended cash offer for Hibernia REIT
- on the senior (securitized) and mezzanine financing for its acquisition of a portfolio of retail parks from Hammerson and Nuveen in the United Kingdom
- on the €224 million development financing for the development of offices at Harcourt Square, Dublin, pre-let to KPMG
- Greykite:
- on the financing of its joint venture with investment asset management company Troveinvest to acquire German industrial assets
- on the acquisition financing for a Swedish portfolio of multi-let industrial sites, to be part of a €1 billion light industrials platform
- on the financing for three parallel logistic acquisitions in England and Scotland
- GIC:
- on the financing of a portfolio of residential assets across Dublin, Ireland
- on the financing of Student Roost, acquired from Brookfield in a JV with Greystar as the largest real estate transaction in the UK in 2022
- on the pool 3 financing of StudentRoost with Greystar for circa £1 billion (having previously advised GIC and Greystar on their pools 1 and 2 financings for StudentRoost)
- on its joint venture with Blackstone relating to Hotel Investment Partners (HIP), a leading owner of 72 resort hotels in Southern Europe totaling 21,000 keys
- in a joint venture with Oaktree on the refinancing of High Tech Campus, Eindhoven a high tech center and R&D ecosystem campus valued in excess of €1 billion
- on its establishment of a €400 million joint venture platform with Melcombe Partners, a UK-based asset manager and adviser
- in joint venture with Kennedy Wilson, the financing of a portfolio of logistics assets located in the United Kingdom and Ireland
- on the financing of the acquisition of a pan-European logistics portfolio for over €3 billion from EQT Exeter involving assets located in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom
- in joint venture with Orange Capital Partners, the financing for its acquisition of a portfolio of 37 residential buildings in Finland comprising 1,900 apartments across 17 cities
- on the financing of a portfolio of urban logistics assets located in Ireland
- on its joint venture with Kennedy Wilson to acquire and manage urban logistics properties in the UK, Ireland and Spain, targeting total assets of $1 billion
- on the €950 million financing aspects of a pan-European logistics platform from Apollo
- GLP Capital Partners:
- on the circa €1 billion refinancing of its EIP I logistics fund
- on a €100 million financing for a portfolio of logistics assets in Italy
- on a €220 million financing for a portfolio of logistics assets in Germany and Poland
- on financings with total debt proceeds in excess for €2 billion across nine countries, including 7x green facilities
- on the financing for the acquisition of a circa €1 billion pan-Europe portfolio of logistics assets, including assets acquired from Blackstone and other newly developed logistics assets located in the UK, the Netherlands and France
- on the complex ‘transitional’ financing for a portfolio of central London urban logistics to be repositioned and valued at c. £200 million once completed.
- on the financing of a financing for a portfolio of 4 Grade A logistics assets on behalf of European Development Partners I Fund located on the Magna Park estate in Lutterworth, valued in excess of £220 million.
- on the financing of its seed portfolio for GLP’s new EIP III Fund valued in excess of €700 million comprising a pan European portfolio of 16 Grade A logistics assets located in key sub-markets of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom
- on the financing of new build logistics assets located in Germany, the Netherlands and Spain
- on the financing of its circa €1 billion acquisition of Goodman Group’s CEE logistics portfolio
- Hudson Pacific Properties on the financing aspects of a JV with Blackstone to create a major new centre for film, TV and digital production in the United Kingdom
- Magdalen College a constituent college of the University of Oxford and GIC on the financing of properties in the Oxford Science Park as part of a strategic development of the park
- P3:
- on the financing of a portfolio of logistics assets located in Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Poland and the Slovak Republic
- on the financing of a portfolio of logistics assets located in Germany
- ShadowBox:
- on its financing of Shinfield Studios, a newly developed world class film, TV studio & production hub located new Reading in the UK
- TPG:
- and 4th Industrial on its refinancing of its portfolio of UK light industrial properties
- on the financing of 4th Industrial, its UK logistics platform
- on the financing for the acquisition of a majority stake in German film studio owner and operator, Studio Babelsberg AG, to become part of TPG’s global studio platform, Cinespace Studios
- on the financing of the ‘Start Living’ build-to-rent platform, focused on single-family housing in the UK, in a strategic joint venture with Gatehouse Bank
- on the financing of its c. €300 million take private of Spanish Real Estate Investment Trust, Témpore Properties
- in a joint venture with Round Hill Capital on the financing of a student and residential housing platform in Lisbon, Portugal
- 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
Prior to joining Kirkland, Kazik undertook the following matters:
- Blackstone:
- on its refinancing of St Katherine Docks, London using debt facilities provided by Allianz and Brookfield
- on the financing of its acquisition of HI Partners (Spanish hotels business)
- on the refinancing (via agented CMBS) of four shopping centres located in Italy
- on its refinancing of the ‘SMF’ portfolio of residential assets in Spain
- on its refinancing of the senior and mezzanine facilities of its Center Parcs Europe portfolio
- on the financing of its acquisition of OfficeFirst
- on the financing of its acquisition of Livingston Designer Outlet, Scotland
- and BioMed on development financing for Granta Park, Cambridge
- and D. Carnegie on its refinancing of residential real estate assets located in Stockholm, Sweden
- on its acquisition financing of various logistics assets located throughout Europe (forming part of Logicor)
- on the financing of its acquisition of The Blanchardstown Centre, Dublin
- on its refinancing of The Adelphi Building, London
- on its refinancing of Devonshire Square
- and Multi Corporation on the refinancing of four shopping centres located in Turkey
- on the financing of its acquisition of Alliance Automotive
- Aston Martin:
- on its refinancing (new £80 million RCF and £550 million (equivalent) debt offering)
- on the financing relating to the acquisition of land in St Athan, Wales for its new factory to build the DBX and become the brand's home of electrification
- Multi Corporation on various financings and refinancings of its retail assets located across Europe
Prior Experience
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, London
- Associate (2014–2018)
Sidley Austin LLP, London
- Associate (2010–2014)
- Trainee Solicitor (2008–2010)
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Credentials
Admissions & Qualifications
- 2010, Admitted to practice as a Solicitor of England and Wales
Education
- College of Law, LondonLL.B.; Legal Practice Course
with Distinction
2008 - College of Law, LondonGraduate Diploma in Law2007
- University of SurreyB.Sc.First Class Honours2005
News &
Insights
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