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Alastair Cowan

"..has notable strength in the student accommodation and private rental sectors." Chambers 2020

Partner, Real Estate
Edinburgh

Expertise

Alastair has been involved in some of the highest profile deals to have taken place in Scotland in the last few years and has a formidable reputation as a deal maker and strategic adviser. Alastair is dual qualified for Scotland and England/Wales and acts for an impressive list of clients which includes institutions and other FCA regulated bodies, private and overseas investors, as well as private property companies.

Alastair has extensive experience of the real estate market, particularly portfolio acquisitions, student accommodation development, investment acquisitions and disposals and asset management.

Alastair is part of our Student Housing Sector Team.

Experience

Acquisition, subsequent asset management, development and break up of several mixed use portfolios, including a predominantly retail portfolio of 42 properties for £120million, and a predominantly industrial and office portfolio of 20 properties for £60million
Acquisition and development of eight separate sites for student accommodation, comprising a cumulative total of 1500 beds for Hong Kong and Singaporean regulated funds, managed through a UK based FCA regulated private equity investment house with an end GDV in excess of £165million, with the first two sites now having been sold for circa £40million
Acquisition and break up of several cross border residential portfolios, including a portfolio of 1,363 properties for £157million from a major UK high street bank, and a portfolio of 511 units across 18 blocks for in excess of £50million
Asset management of several shopping centres on behalf of both a listed UK REIT and a large private property company
Acquisition of an SPV which owned a derelict site in Manchester for the development of a 221 bed Hampton by Hilton hotel with an end value in excess of £30m, with funding through a mixture of equity, development finance, and the creation of a ground rent interest sold for over £8m
Forward funding and acquisition of a site at MediaCity, Salford for the erection of a build to rent development consisting of 238 units, with amenity space, parking and retail, and an end value of circa £55m
Acting for an American fund in the provision of finance to an American based developer/operator to build out and operate three developments in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sheffield to provide 888 beds with an end GDV of circa £105m.

Professional memberships