Associate - Real Estate Finance

Johnson Stokes & Master; Hong Kong; On-site; HKD 900,000 - 1,500,000; Full time

Job summary

Johnson Stokes & Master in Hong Kong seeks an Associate/Senior Associate for its leading Real Estate Finance practice. You will lead landmark financing transactions, advising banks, lenders, funds and investors across Hong Kong, PRC and other common law jurisdictions.

You will work with partners to handle complex financing, acquisitions, JV structures and cross-border deals, developing deep real estate investment experience in a collaborative team. Training and growth opportunities are provided.

Qualifications

• Hong Kong Qualified
• 3-6 years' post-qualification experience in banking and/or real estate finance; 6+ PQE welcome
• Experience in secured lending, acquisition finance, project finance and/or commercial real estate finance preferred
• Experience in property M&A, real estate joint ventures or private credit transactions advantageous
• Excellent command of English and Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua)
• Strong drafting, negotiation and project management skills
• Commercially minded, solutions-oriented and able to balance legal analysis with business considerations
• Strong interpersonal and client management skills
• Self-motivated and able to manage multiple matters in a fast-paced environment
• Collaborative team player with a long-term career in one of Hong Kong's leading commercial real estate finance practices

Responsibilities

• Advise financial institutions, private lenders, sponsors and investors on complex real estate financing transactions
• Draft, review and negotiate finance documents; lead signings and drawdown/closing
• Coordinate transaction execution across multiple workstreams with lenders, borrowers and counsel
• Review underlying transaction documents including acquisition agreements and JV arrangements
• Build and maintain relationships with clients and market participants
• Participate in business development, client seminars and thought leadership
• Supervise and mentor trainees and junior lawyers

Skills

Drafting

Negotiation

Project management

Client management

Interpersonal skills

Mentoring trainees

Education

Hong Kong Qualified

Job description

We are looking for a talented and motivated Associate / Senior Associate to join our leading Real Estate Finance practice in our Hong Kong office. The successful candidate will work with the team to lead the ground-breaking landmark financing transactions in the Hong Kong market.

This is an opportunity to work at the forefront of the market, advising major financial institutions, private credit lenders, real estate investment funds, developers, REITs and institutional investors on some of the most significant and innovative real estate transactions in Hong Kong, PRC and other common law jurisdictions.

Working closely with Real Estate Finance Partners, the associate will work with a highly regarded team to advise on high-value and complex commercial real estate financing for banks, financial institutions, PERE funds, private credit lenders, REITs and institutional investors on some of the most complex and innovative real estate transactions, including large scale acquisition and development loans, cross-border financing transactions, and private credit lending transactions.

The associate may also have exposure on RE corporate transactions advising developers, investment managers and other institutional investors on acquisition and disposal of holding companies/assets in Hong Kong, as well as formation of joint ventures for real estate investments, working with Partner Eugene Wong.

The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on headline-making and market-first transactions while developing broad expertise across the full real estate investment lifecycle. The role offers a unique combination of both banking, corporate and real estate exposures in the same seat. If the candidate possesses good banking and finance and/or corporate experience, on-the-job training will be provided for the real estate workstream.

Responsibilities

• Advising financial institutions, private credit lenders, sponsors, developers and institutional investors on complex commercial real estate financing transactions, including sophisticated acquisition financings, development financings, private credit and structured finance, and restructuring financings
• Drafting, reviewing and negotiating finance documents and leading CP signing and drawdown/closing process
• Managing transaction execution across multiple workstreams, coordinating with lenders, sponsors/borrowers, offshore and local counsel and other stakeholders
• Reviewing underlying transaction documents, usually involving acquisition agreements, shareholder and joint venture arrangements, and other ancillary transaction documentation, most recently a trend on emerging and alternative real estate asset classes, including student accommodation, hotel conversions, logistics, data centres, self-storage and other operational real estate investments; we will provide training on real estate knowledge related skills
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with clients, market participants and industry stakeholders
• Participating in business development initiatives, client seminars, market updates and thought leadership activities
• Supervising and mentoring trainees, executives and (for senior associate) junior lawyers

The above list of responsibilities is not exhaustive, and additional reasonable duties consistent with the role may be assigned from time to time.

Qualifications

• Hong Kong Qualified
• 3-6 years' post qualification experience in banking and/or real estate finance; candidate with 6+ PQE experience is more than welcome to apply
• Candidate with strong experience in secured lending, acquisition finance, project finance and/or commercial real estate finance will be considered with priority
• Experience in property M&A, real estate joint ventures or private credit transactions would be advantageous but is not essential; training will be provided
• Excellent command of both spoken and written English and Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua)
• Strong drafting, negotiation and project management skills
• Commercially minded, solutions-oriented and able to balance legal analysis with practical business considerations
• Strong interpersonal and client management skills, with the confidence to work directly with sophisticated lenders, sponsors and institutional investors
• Self-motivated, detail-oriented and capable of managing multiple matters in a fast-paced environment
• A collaborative team player with a strong desire to build a long-term career in one of Hong Kong's leading commercial real estate finance practices

Should you require any reasonable adjustments to be made for you during the recruitment process please do not hesitate to contact a member of the JSM recruitment team.