Fernando Soto

Fernando is a partner of Real Estate at Gómez-Acebo & Pombo.

He specialises in corporate transactions within the real estate sector, with a particular focus on the acquisition of: (i) companies operating in the sector; (ii) individual assets and real estate portfolios, including hotels and hostels, all types of residential assets (mainstream, luxury and high-end, Build to Rent (BTR), Build to Sell (BTS), co-living, flex-living, short stays/tourist apartments), office buildings (including their reconfiguration and conversion to residential or hotel use), logistics warehouses, student residences, shopping centres and retail assets; and (iii) portfolios of non-performing loans (NPLs) and foreclosed assets.

He also advises on acquisitions in insolvency contexts, restructurings of real estate companies, loan-to-own transactions, sale and leaseback operations, joint ventures for real estate investment and/or development, lease agreements across all asset types, and hotel management contracts. Furthermore, he has extensive experience in the acquisition and repositioning of unique buildings subject to complex protection regimes. Fernando has a strong international profile, having led and coordinated transactions not only in Spain but also in Germany, Austria and Portugal.

He holds a Law degree from Comillas Pontifical University – ICADE (Spain). He has delivered training on real estate finance, shopping centre leases, and development and construction law at institutions such as IE University (Spain), Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain), IFAES and ISDE Law Business School (Spain), affiliated with Complutense University of Madrid.

Fernando has been recognised by prestigious legal directories in recent years, including Chambers & Partners in Real Estate and recommended by Best Lawyers International. He was part of the team awarded Europe Law Firm of the Year for Transactions by the PERE Awards, for his leading role in the sale and leaseback of BBVA’s real estate portfolio.

He has contributed as author or co-author to several specialised legal publications.