Susheela Rivers
Suu-shee-lahShe/HerPartnerHead of Real Estate, Asia Pacific
Susheela Rivers is a real estate lawyer with over 28 years' experience of helping clients with complex, multi-faceted cross-border and domestic real estate transactions throughout Asia (including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam) and the UK.
She advises on all aspects of structuring real estate investment and development portfolios including acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures and developments for stand-alone assets and portfolios across all asset classes.
Susheela helps clients with a wide range of real estate matters, focusing particularly on M&A transactions, financings, developments, leases, and fractionalising real estate including real estate tokenisation. She has in-depth knowledge of the hospitality and leisure spheres and a particular focus on real estate with operational aspects.
She advises international and regional property companies, real estate fund managers and investors, private equity funds, hotel groups, retailers, investment banks and major corporate occupiers on all aspects of real estate transactions, from structuring investments, developments, project and investment management, through to real estate operation and exit strategies.
Susheela regularly speaks on real estate topics at conferences. She is a Global Governing Trustee at Urban Land Institute (ULI), the oldest and largest network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts in the world, and Chair of ULI Hong Kong.
She is Global Co-Chair of the DLA Piper Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW), in which she supports gender balance at all levels by strengthening the influence, leadership and voice of women both within the firm and the wider community. She is also an executive committee member of the British Chamber of Commerce HK.
Highlights
EXPERIENCE
Susheela’s experience includes advising:
- Advised JD Property on its acquisition of the LiFung Centre, the 487,350 square foot logistics property located in Shatin, Hong Kong.
- Advised Trio Capital on the acquisition of the Hilton Garden Inn Phuket Bang Tao in Thailand.
- PGIM on its acquisition of the Travelodge hotel located in Central, Hong Kong, a joint venture with Dash Co-living and HKD450+ million financing with United Overseas Bank.
- PGIM on its joint venture with a co-living operator regarding an enbloc hotel located in Kowloon.
- Allianz Real Estate on its co-investment into a fund (with co-investors Gaw Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs and Great Wall) that has acquired 16 properties in Hong Kong.
- Nuveen Singapore for their Silk Road Fund on a major joint venture platform (via Malta and Singapore structure) to invest in outlet malls in Asia and China.
- AirTrunk on a hyperscale data centre development in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, and a potential lease in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong for data centre use.
- Gaw Capital Partners on the acquisition of half of a grade A office block in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and the subsequent acquisition of the rest of the building, from two separate sellers through the onshore acquisition of holding entities.
- Allianz Real Estate on the acquisition of a portfolio of five modern logistics assets in China that are owned by a Gaw Capital managed fund, and a 31,426 sqm grade-A office asset located in Zhongguancun, a sought-after hub for IT and technology companies in Beijing.
- Crane Capital on its joint venture investment into the acquisition of a portfolio of industrial buildings in Shanghai and the onshore/offshore financing thereof.
- Crane Capital on its acquisition of a Hong Kong serviced apartment complex from Hanison Construction Holdings for HKD420 million, negotiating its subsequent property management agreement and conducting its internal corporate restructure.
- A property development company on a proposed security token offering to raise capital to acquire real estate in Hong Kong and using our DLA Piper tokenisation engine to create tokens for the security token offering.
- Silk Road II Holdings Pte. Ltd. and its consortium of investors on the potential joint investment in and acquisition of outlet malls in China.
- Tesco in relation to all aspects of real estate acquisition in China, including due diligence, negotiation of agreements, development and construction agreements, project and management services agreements, leasing documentation and other ancillary documentation, and advising on structural, offshore and onshore company formations and other issues.
- Ping An Insurance on the 30% share acquisition from and joint venture with Sun Hung Kai Properties in developing the commercial and retail complex at West Kowloon Station in Hong Kong, with consideration of c. HKD11 billion.
- CPPIB in connection with the acquisition of an interest in a mixed-use real estate development project in China from Longfor (a Hong Kong listed public company) as well as the subsequent joint venture and related financing arrangements.
- Fund manager CBRE GI in relation to the recapitalisation of a fund by numerous existing shareholders and the entry of new investors in relation to KLCC Suria.
- Fingen Group, a renowned Italian luxury outlet developer/operator, in its share transfer to, and formation of, an outlet fund jointly established by Henderson Property Fund, Harvard Fund, Gaw Capital and Fingen Group, involving one existing and two potential outlets in China.
- English
- Bahasa Indonesian
- Bahasa Melayu
- Chinese (Cantonese)
- Chinese (Mandarin)
- The College of Law, London, 1991
- Queen Mary College, University of London, 1990
- National Junior College Singapore, 1986
Awards and recognitions
- Hall of Fame, Real Estate, Hong Kong, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific since 2021
- Leading individual, Real Estate, Hong Kong, The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2014-20
- Band 2 lawyer, Real Estate, Hong Kong, Chambers Greater China Region since 2016
- Real Estate practice group ranked Band 2 in China since 2021 and Band 2 in Thailand since 2018, Chambers Greater China Region
- Finalist, Real Estate sector, Women in Business Law Asia Awards 2021
- Best in Real Estate, Euromoney Legal Media Group Asia Women in Business Law Awards 2014 and 2019
Publications and media
- Why Gender Balance Matters, And How It Makes Business Better, Hong Kong Lawyer, March 2021
