Carey Olsen advises largest ever real estate fund to list in London

Carey Olsen has advised on the establishment of Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate plc, a closed-ended collective investment fund incorporated in Jersey which has recently announced an unprecedented capital raise of up to £1 billion through its initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange's (LSE) Main Market making it the largest ever real estate fund to be listed on the LSE.

The fund will target investments in European real estate linked assets, initially with a geographical focus on the UK, Ireland and Spain.

Carey Olsen advised on the Jersey legal and regulatory aspects of the establishment of the new fund as well as on the acquisition of two seed portfolios comprising UK real estate worth £223 million which form the initial investments of the fund.

The Carey Olsen team was led by funds partner James Mulholland (pictured) who was assisted by senior associate Christopher Griffin and associates Stephanie Evans, Katrina Lindsay and Ashley Gribben.

Carey Olsen's funds team acted alongside Ashurst who advised the fund on the English law aspects of the launch; Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer who acted for the manager; and Herbert Smith Freehills who acted for Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the joint global coordinators and joint bookrunners.

James Mulholland said: "Our involvement in such a high profile and successful fund raise presented a great opportunity for Carey Olsen to showcase its strengths. Given the highly accelerated launch timetable, it is a ringing endorsement of both the level of service we provide and the market's confidence in Jersey as a jurisdiction for real estate fund launches in a post-AIFMD world.”