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Alan Samson is an English and New York qualified partner based in the firm's London office. He co-chairs the firm's real estate group and heads the European real estate private equity team. He joined the firm in May 2000 as the firm's first English law partner. Mr. Samson has more than 20 years experience in all aspects of commercial real estate and real estate finance, including corporate and investment property acquisitions and disposals, acquisition financing and joint ventures. As the credit crunch has taken hold, a large part of his practice has been focused on the acquisition of real estate loan portfolios (whole loans, senior and/or junior notes and structured pieces) from financial institutions, distressed/vulture fund formation, mezzanine loan origination and debt restructurings and workouts. His client base is largely made up of US and European financial investors (primarily opportunity and private equity funds).
Mr. Samson has been named as one of the “Hot 100” movers and shakers of the legal profession in The Lawyer magazine's survey. When assembling their dream team of 40 lawyers to start a new “magic circle” firm, Legal Business nominated Mr. Samson as head of their fantasy firm's real estate group. He is featured as a leading real estate lawyer in Legal Experts 2011/2012 (published by Legal Business) and is regularly ranked among London's leading real estate finance lawyers in Chambers' UK Guide to the Legal Profession and the Legal 500 UK. He was most recently identified by Chambers UK 2012 as a leading lawyer in the fields of Real Estate, Real Estate Finance, Real Estate: Hotels & Leisure and Real Estate: Big Ticket. Legal 500 UK 2011/2012 recommends Mr. Samson as a leading lawyer for both Commercial Property and Commercial Property: Hotels and Leisure. In addition he is recognised on the 2011/2012 Best Lawyers International list as a leading lawyer for Real Estate, as well as recommended for Real Estate and Real Estate Finance in Practical Law Company's Which Lawyer? 2011/2012 edition.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Samson spent 10 years at and was a partner with a major London law firm, where he both headed that firm's North America Group and was a member of their Property Finance Group. He also practiced for several years (during the early 1990s) with Weil Gotshal & Manges in New York as part of an exchange programme. Mr. Samson is a former member of the editorial board of the Property Law Journal and has published in the Real Estate Finance Journal. He is also a member of the NYU London-New York Real Estate Roundtable and the Urban Land Institute and is a regular speaker at conferences on real estate private equity and banking and finance topics. Recent transactions include advising: Aktiva Capital on several private equity investments in the oil and gas and hedge funds industries in the US and Europe; AREA Property Partners on several joint ventures, acquisitions and financings; Colony Capital on the private equity acquisition of two Geneva hospitals with financing from Goldman Sachs; Delek Global Real Estate and Phoenix Insurance on the acquisition of a portfolio of commercial real estate loans/B notes secured against Swiss and German real estate from a European investment bank; Development Securities PLC on their joint venture with Patron Capital to acquire the Manchester Evening News Arena; ENI Lasmo SpA on a series of real estate disposals; Gulf International Bank on their Knightsbridge headquarters project; Lehman Brothers Real Estate Partners, Westbrook Partners and Atlas Capital Group on a senior loan facility to finance the private equity acquisition of Cannon Bridge House, London; Marriott International on a hotel joint venture with Whitbread for 46 UK hotels, a syndicated bridge financing of the portfolio and subsequent sale and manage back to RBS; and on the acquisition of the Grosvenor House Hotel in London and the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin out of the Le Meridien receivership; Meadow Partners on their acquisition, financing and recapitalisation of UK real estate assets; Rockpoint Group on several joint ventures for the acquisition and financing of office buildings/hotels in London and Paris; - Tishman International Companies and Invista Asset Management on their acquisition and financing and subsequent securitisation of the receivables of One Plantation Place, London;
- Valad Property Group in relation to matters concerning their UK funds;
Westbrook Partners on numerous transactions, including their acquisition and financing of Shell Mex House and Dolphin Square in London, as well as portfolios from the Prudential and the receivers of Greycoat; WR Berkley Corporation on the acquisition of new headquarters buildings in the insurance district of the City of London.
Recent recognitions include: - “Alan Samson garners great praise: “He is the reason we chose this firm; he has high technical competence and is efficient in the way he deals with clients. He is a hugely experienced practitioner with a fine track record in high-value real estate transactions. Clients admire his assertive style, and that he is “always right on top of things.” – Chambers and Partners UK 2012
- “Alan Samson is “very smart, productive, and reliable.” - UK Legal 500 2012
- “Alan Samson is “an excellent practitioner, who is self-assured and relentlessly client-focused.” - Chambers and Partners UK 2011
- “Alan Samson is “tireless, smart and commercial.”- UK Legal 500 2011
- “Much of the team's success is attributed to Alan Samson. He co-chairs the real estate group and heads the European private equity team.” - Chambers and Partners UK 2010
- “Alan Samson is recognised for his wealth of expertise.”- Chambers and Partners UK 2010
- “When Alan Samson is involved in a case, “he’s on top of everything - nothing slips through the cracks,” praise interviewees. He is an extremely knowledgeable and experienced adviser in the sector who is also recognised for his skills in hotel and leisure-related work.”- Chambers and Partners UK 2009
- “Alan Samson is a familiar face on large and complex structured private equity deals. He inspires complete confidence in clients that “all interests are being fully considered, both on individual technical issues and on the overall big picture.” - Chambers and Partners Global 2008
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PRACTICESEDUCATION- College of Law - Chancery Lane, 1987
Law Society Finals - London School of Economics and Political Science, 1985
LL.B. (Honours)
ADMISSIONS- New York Bar
- Solicitor, England & Wales
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