Asset Management - Real Estate

Real estate is an integral part of diversified structured portfolios. National and international developments in the field of real estate significantly increase the complexity of the tax and regulatory framework.

Due to the extensive experience of our experts in the field of real estate, we have a deep insight into the underlying structures and the needs of providers of real estate funds as well as their investors. We therefore advise in a needs-oriented, targeted and efficient manner. Our tax advisors are professional leaders in their fields. Due to their many years of experience in the field of real estate, the members of our team are familiar with the issues relevant to you and will advise you competently and in a solution-oriented manner, taking into account comprehensive industry know-how. With our international network WTS Global, we provide you with comprehensive support, not only on German tax issues, but also with cross-border aspects. We have excellent contacts to the relevant business associations and thus, we help to ensure that our clients' concepts remain viable in the future.

We provide comprehensive (tax) legal advice on the structuring, implementation, ongoing taxation and, if necessary, also the liquidation of the respective real estate funds. We develop efficient investment solutions for fund initiators as well as for investors, support them in the preparation of fund documentation and the distribution of fund units, and assist the management company, fund vehicles and investors in the ongoing practice.

We offer our clients the analysis of existing real estate portfolios and develop long-term, tax-optimized concepts for acquisition, restructuring and exit from real estate investments in close consultation with the clients. In addition, our consulting team is available to assist with questions regarding the tax optimization of land, land acquisition, VAT and income tax burdens as well as cross-border real estate transactions.

Furthermore, we support our clients throughout the entire investment cycle from a single source. Our range of advice includes in particular:

• Tax transaction advice on the acquisition of domestic and foreign real estate in asset and share deals; esp. tax due diligence reviews
• Investment tax advice
• Structuring of acquisitions and sales of real estate companies and investment companies
• Formulation and negotiation of tax clauses in real estate purchase agreements, lease agreements, partnership agreements of real estate companies, loan agreements and other contracts
• Tax advice on the conception of national, international and multinational real estate fund structures
• Advice on structuring and launching real estate fund solutions
• Tax advice on the structure and set-up of the management function
• Advice on the distribution of shares in real estate funds
• Advice on the implementation of target investments
• Ongoing tax advice, in particular the preparation of tax returns, supervision of tax audits, supervision of WHT refund procedures and the preparation of annual financial statements
• Advice and monitoring of real estate and real estate transfer tax matters
• Examination of matters in accordance with the German CFC rules (AStG)
• Tax consulting in connection with tax compliance and support of investment management
• Support in judicial and extrajudicial appeal proceedings
• Advice on restructuring and liquidation of real estate funds.

Together with the financial services specialists of our network WTS Global, we advise international real estate clients in the above-mentioned contexts also with regard to cross-border issues.