International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised pan-European private equity real estate fund Patron Capital in relation to its joint venture to acquire CALA Homes, in a £1.35 billion deal. Patron has joined forces with US-headquartered investment firm, Sixth Street Partners, to buy CALA from Legal & General (L&G).
CALA Homes is one of the UK’s 10 biggest housebuilders with a best-in-class land-bank and a focus on building high-quality homes. Patron Capital formerly owned CALA in partnership with L&G until 2018.
Patron Capital closed its seventh flagship fund in May, raising over €860 million, including more than €200 million of Patron discretionary co-investment capital.
The Simmons team supporting Patron was led by new private equity real estate head, Oliver s’Jacob, who joined the firm in February.
Patron’s CALA deal follows its recent €50m acquisition of the Blackpool shopping centre and retail park in Cork, Ireland from US investor Värde Partners – on which the firm was also advised by Simmons.
That deal, which involved a joint venture with Lugus Capital, was supported by a cross-border Simmons team with head of the firm’s Dublin commercial real estate team, Peter McKeever, leading on the acquisition and Dublin finance partner Kate Curneen assisting Patron on the debt financing of the deal. Oliver s’Jacob again supported Patron with the joint venture arrangements.
Farhod Moghadam, Senior Counsel and Partner at Patron Capital commented: “Our close and longstanding relationship with Oliver and his team at Simmons was instrumental in helping Patron to achieve a successful outcome on the wider transaction and within a challenging timeframe.”
Oliver s’Jacob said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been able to advise Patron Capital on its participation in this significant transaction. It is a further endorsement of our growing private equity real estate capability at Simmons. It was a pleasure working with all the parties involved and we congratulate Patron and their partner, Sixth Street, on their new investment.”
