Profile
Tom Dear advises fund managers, investors, global financial institutions and family offices on private equity real estate investment matters. He focuses his practice on complex cross-border joint ventures, investment fund formations and corporate acquisitions and disposals, with a particular emphasis on the real estate and hospitality sectors.
His clients include prominent fund managers, funds, family offices and financial institutions such as:
- Boreal IM
- Crosstree Real Estate Partners
- Deutsche Finance International
- Europa Capital
- Greater Manchester Pension Fund
- JR Capital
- Lifestyle Hospitality Capital
- Macquarie Asset Management
- Oaktree Capital Management
- Paloma Capital
- Precede Capital Partners
- Revcap
- Sculptor Capital Management
- Tokoro Capital
- Urbium Capital
- Valor Real Estate Partners
- Westwind Capital
In The Legal 500 2025, Tom is recognised as a Next Generation Partner and has been referred to as “fantastic to work with”, “an exceptionally talented next generation partner” and “commercial, pragmatic and personable with an innate understanding of the industry”.
Concentrations
- Private equity
- Real estate
- Joint ventures
- Fund formation
- Acquisitions and dispositions
Capabilities
Experience
- Advising Oaktree Capital on various European joint ventures in relation to various residential portfolios.
- Advising Sculptor Capital on its programmatic preferred equity joint venture with Stelling Properties to develop and operate purpose-built student accommodation across the UK.
- Advising Westwind Capital on setting up its investment vehicle (with CBRE IM’s cornerstone investment), acquiring a circa £110 million BTR portfolio, and forming a joint venture with Deva Capital to acquire Elmsleigh Street Limited, owner of a 206-unit London multifamily asset.
- Advising Valor Real Estate Partners on the formation of various separate accounts.
- Advising Lifestyle Hospitality Capital on its joint venture with OneIM and Aendre Group to acquire, develop, and manage a GBP 335 million portfolio of luxury extended-stay hospitality assets located in central London.
- Advising Tokoro Capital on the establishment of a GBP 200 million joint venture with GCM Grosvenor to invest in the UK student accommodation sector.
- Advising Westwind Capital on the establishment of a value-add fund, targeting EUR 350 million of capital commitments, with a focus on rental residential and student housing investments across Europe.
- Advising Urbium Capital on the formation and first close of its Urbium Living Fund I, a UK residential fund that is dedicated to investments in purpose-built student accommodation and senior living assets.
- Advising JR Capital on the establishment of a GBP 100 million value-add fund, targeting Middle Eastern high net worth and institutional investors.
- Advising AEW Europe on the formation of its second pan-European value-add fund.
- Advising Deutsche Finance International on various pan-European mandates including the formation of its third European value-add real estate fund targeting in excess of EUR 1 billion of commitments and a UK urban logistics platform.
- Advising Europa Capital on the formation of its continental diversified income fund with a target capital raise of EUR 2 billion as well as Europa value-add funds IV, V and VI, Europa’s UK debt funds and the establishment of the Europa Generation student accommodation platform.
- Advising the UK’s largest local authority pension fund, Greater Manchester Pension Fund, on its investment into a GBP 25 billion + specialist fund vehicle.
- Advising Urban Partners on the formation of two German focused debt funds including its first ESG/sustainable debt fund focused on green senior and mezzanine loan investments in Germany and the Nordics.
- Advising Paloma Capital on the formation of its first three UK focused value-add funds and its continuation vehicle with a cornerstone investor.
- Advising Precede Capital Partners on the establishment of, and investment by QuadReal Property Group into, their new GBP 1 billion debt platform and its second segregated mandate with QuadReal Property Group targeting mezzanine debt investments in UK real estate assets.
- Advising Revcap on the establishment of its value-add Kitty Hawk Capital Partners Funds I to IV, its core-plus Whitehawk Funds I to XI, pan-European opportunistic Sparrowhawk Funds III and IV and various segregated mandates and joint ventures.
Recognition & Leadership
- Team Member, The Lawyer Awards, Real Estate Team of the Year, 2026
- Listed, The Legal 500 UK
- Commercial Property: Investment, 2026-2027
- Real Estate Funds, 2022-2027
- "Next Generation Partner," 2025-2027
- Listed, Chambers UK Guide, Investment Funds: Real Estate, "Up and Coming," 2026-2027
- Listed, Chambers Europe Guide, Investment Funds: Real Estate, "Up and Coming," 2026
- Listed, IFLR 1000 United Kingdom, "Rising Star Partner," Real Estate Funds, 2025-2026
- Team Member, PERE Global Awards, Law Firm of the Year: Fund Formation in Europe, 2018
Credentials
Education
- Legal Practice Course, BPP Law School, London
- Graduate Diploma in Law, BPP Law School, London
- B.A. (Hons), Politics, Newcastle University
Admissions
- England and Wales