Endrik Lettau

Retired Partner of Counsel, Frankfurt

Biography

Ranked as a leading real estate lawyer by Chambers Europe 2014, Endrik Lettau advises investors, developers and financial institutions seeking to create or extend their property portfolios in Germany.

Overview

Head of White & Case's global real estate practice, Endrik has a long track record of delivering valuable advice on real estate transactions to property builders and developers, as well as to investment banks and hotel groups. He guides domestic and international clients through the various stages of projects, including corporate and fiscal structuring. He helps some clients by setting up joint ventures or special purpose vehicles, and by securing finance for real estate projects by way of leveraged financing tools. For other clients, it is Endrik's innovative approach to leasing which enables them to realise their real estate objectives. He provides practical advice to hotel, groups, retail, sports and fitness, telecommunication and entertainment companies on long-term leasing and operating contracts for developments which, in some cases, have not yet been planned or built. Working with foreign investors, notably from the US and the UK, Endrik steers clients through sale and acquisition transactions, helping them to navigate the legal intricacies of the German real estate market.
Bars and Courts
Notar, Notarkammer Berlin
Rechtsanwalt
Attorney-at-Law, New York
Education
Second State Exam
Hanseatic Higher Regional Court of Hamburg
LLM
University of Miami
First State Exam
Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel
Languages
German
English

Experience

Saint Gobain Building Distribution, 2016
Advising Saint Gobain Building Distribution on the construction of a central logistic facility for Germany.

Blackstone Group, ongoing
Ongoing legal advice on real estate office portfolio owned by Blackstone entities.

Tishman Speyer Properties, ongoing
Advising Tishman Speyer properties on the acquisition and sale of various office buildings in Germany, as well as on the formation and implementation of various joint venture structures with co-investors. Also advising (since 2012) on the TaunusTurm project, a joint venture between Tishman Speyer and Commerz Real.

ECE, ongoing
Advising ECE on joint venture aspects and on the management of real estate portfolios in Germany.

Überseequartier Hamburg, 2014
Advising the owner/investor consortium, consisting of Groß & Partner, ING Real Estate und Propertize (formerly SNS Property Finance), on the sales of the northern part of the Überseequartier of the Hafencity in Hamburg, Germany to Hines and of the southern part of the Überseequartier to Unibail-Rodamco.

Allianz Real Estate, 2013
Advised Allianz Real Estate on the divestment of the office property "Jericho 34" in Stockholm, to the Swedish real estate investor AMF Fastigheter. The total leasable area of approximately 21,000 square meters is fully let. The main tenant is Ernst & Young.

IKB, 2013
Advised IKB-SPV Tempelhofer Hafen GmbH & Co. KG on the sale of an inner-city shopping mall in Berlin known as "Tempelhofer Hafen", to a major German insurance company. The rental area, of approximately 36,000 square meters, is almost fully let to EDEKA, MediaMarkt, C&A, Jopp&Jopp and H&M.

Publications

Typical balance sheet problems with purchase price adjustment in real estate share deals, Issue 41, pp. 2233–2236, 2010 , (Typische bilanzielle Probleme der Kaufpreisanpassung beim Immobilien-share-deals)(Der Betrieb) (co-author, with Alexander Ruhl)

Real estate during the crisis, NJW-aktuell, Issue 16, p. XVI, 2009, (Immobilien in der Krise) (co-author, with Rostyslav Telyatnykov)

Ways out of the funding crisis – European models, Rubrik: MIPIM-Special, Issue 05/06, p. 155 et seq., 2009, (Wege aus der Finanzierungskrise – europäische Vorbilder) ( Immobilien & Finanzierung) (co-author, with Rostyslav Telyatnykov)

Real estate during the crisis from an investors' perspective, Issue 19, Page 1573 et seq., 2009, (Immobilien in der Krise aus Investorensicht) (Neue Juristische Online Zeitschrift) (co-author, with Rostyslav Telyatnykov).

Awards and Recognition

Highly Recommended Lawyer, Best Lawyers/Handelsblatt, 2009/2023
Real Estate Law

Leading Lawyer, Chambers Europe 2016
Real Estate – Germany

Highly Recommended Lawyer, JUVE 2016/2017
Real Estate

Highly Recommended Lawyer, The Legal 500 EMEA 2016
Real Estate – Germany

Highly Recommended Lawyer, Who's Who Legal 2015
Real Estate