Peter Decker is a German-qualified partner in the Munich office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
With more than 20 years experience, Peter Decker has practiced in the area of real estate and real estate financing since the beginning of his career. He has extensive experience in real estate development projects and national, and international real estate transactions, involving both asset and share deals, joint ventures, sale and leasebacks and commercial leasing deals.
Mr. Decker advises on turn-key construction projects, including contract management, claim- and risk management, real estate finance, real estate reorganization and restructurings. He also specializes in hotels, boarding houses and nursing homes. In addition, he has strong expertise in advising and representing clients in national and international litigation and arbitration cases related to real estate projects and commercial lease agreements.
Peter Decker is a frequent speaker at seminars and congresses on real estate law issues and topics related to real estate transactions and special real estate (e.g. photovoltaic parks). He is ranked as one of the leading Real Estate lawyers in Germany by Chambers Europe 2011 and clients regard him as "highly professional" and recommend him for his "great service" ( JUVE Handbook for German Commercial Law Firms 2007/2008). Most recently, the 2011 edition of Legal 500 EMEA ranked Mr. Decker and his team as one of the leading real estate legal teams in Germany, Legal Experts EMEA 2012 ranked him as a leading lawyer in the field of Construction and Real Estate, and the International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers 2011 listed him as one of the foremost real estate practitioners worldwide.
Prior to joining Gibson Dunn, Mr. Decker headed the Real Estate Department of a well-known German law firm, and before that he acted as managing director of a development company, focusing on hotels and nursing homes.
Peter Decker speaks German, English, Italian and Spanish.
Representative Transactions include:
- A Family Office in the acquisition of a luxury project of rented apartments in Munich to be planned and constructed by the developer on a turn-key basis by way of an asset deal.
- A Foreign State Investment Fund in the sale of four buildings of rented apartments in Berlin to a German investor by way of an asset deal, acting for the seller.
- A Private Foreign Investor in the sale of an office property located in Berlin to a foreign investor by way of a share deal.
- A Private Foreign Investment Group in the acquisition of an office building in Dortmund from German fund by way of an asset deal.
- Redefine International in the acquisition of a shopping center in Kaiserslautern from a German developer.
- An Institutional Foreign Investor in the acquisition and financing of a wholesale center in Berlin from a foreign investor by way of a share deal.
- An Institutional Foreign Investment Group in the acquisition and financing of a logistics center in Munich from a foreign seller by way of a share deal.
- Investa:
- in the dissolution of a joint venture with foreign investors regarding high quality properties in Germany;
- in the acquisition of a property in Berlin for the development of a multi - tenant high rise building including hotel by way of an asset deal;
- in the sale with turn-key construction obligation of 426-room four-star hotel in Munich to foreign international active hotel operator/investor by way of a share deal;
- in the sale with turn- key construction of a 346-room four-star hotel in Berlin Mitte to the foreign hotel operator/investor by way of a share deal.
- Ascott in the acquisition of an apartment hotel in Munich with 146 rooms on a turn-key basis from a German developer for a foreign operator/investor by way of a share deal.
- JSC Pobeda LSR in the conclusion of an EPC agreement for a brick plant in Russia with a German contractor.
- Nordic Property Group:
- in the conclusion of a turn-key construction agreement with the German contractor for a residential apartment project comprising a high rise building near Stockholm;
- in the acquisition of an office building in Riga from a Russian bank by way of an asset deal;
- in the sale with construction obligation of a shopping center near Stockholm by way of an asset deal.
Membership of Professional Bodies
Admitted as a German lawyer (Rechtsanwalt) since 1982
Qualified as a Chartered Surveyor, MRICS, since 2010
Teaching assignment in Real Estate Law, at the Technical University of Munich, chair for real estate development and construction management since 2004
Member of the curatorship of the circle of friends for the chair for project management and project development of the Technical University of Munich