Chris Beaumont-McQuillan is a Partner and Practice Group Leader in the Corporate Real Estate & Funds (CREF) team, based across the firm’s UAE offices. Previously based in London, Chris lived and worked in the UAE from 2013 to 2018, where he led the Corporate Real Estate team of a top-tier US law firm.

Chris has a multifaceted practice focused on high-value, complex, and often cross-border real estate transactions. He advises clients throughout the entire real estate lifecycle, from structuring investment and development joint ventures, club deals, and opco/propco structures, to financing, asset management, and exit strategies. His clients include REITs, private equity real estate funds, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, hotel operators, and property developers.

He has advised on numerous landmark international deals, including a EUR 1 billion structured disposal of a PBSA portfolio in Spain and Portugal for a US REIT, the development and operation of several 5-star boutique hotels in the GCC and Saudi Arabia, and complex cross-border acquisitions, refinancings, and restructurings for leading financial institutions and asset managers. Chris has also acted for debt funds and joint ventures on major development and auction transactions across multiple jurisdictions.

While sector-agnostic, Chris has particular expertise in Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) and the Hotels & Leisure sector, having advised on more than $1 billion of PBSA deals in recent years and on significant hospitality M&A and management arrangements for both owners and operators.