Ismael Fernández Antón
Ismael Fernández Antón

Ismael Fernández Antón

Partner

Madrid

+34 91 364 9853 | +34 678 070 954
ismael.fernandezanton@ashurstperkins.com

Introduction

Ismael is known for his commercial approach and ability to provide holistic, end-to-end advice across the entire real estate lifecycle.

Ismael Fernández Antón has extensive experience advising national and international clients in all the stages of the real estate process including zoning, development, financing, construction, management and commercialization of all types of assets (retail centers, residential and office buildings, logistic premises, data centers, shopping centers and hotels). Ismael also has a strong track record in distressed transactions, experience in insolvency and litigation proceedings, and business structures such as SOCIMIs (REITs).

He has been consistently recognized by Spanish business media as one of the top deal makers in the real estate sector in Spain, not only by volume but also by number of closed deals.

He has been repeatedly ranked on the most prestigious legal directories, Chambers & Partners and The Legal 500, achieving a Band 1 ranking in both for several years in a row. Ismael was shortlisted as Best Lawyer in Spain at the Expansión Jurídico Business Law Practice Awards 2025 (the only Real Estate lawyer included in the list of candidates), and the Real Estate practice has been nominated for the third consecutive year as one of the Best Law Firms in Spain in Real Estate. He was also recognized as one of the best Iberian lawyers under the age of forty, in the 40 under Forty Awards –2013 edition- organized by the publication Iberian Lawyer.

Some of his key clients include Goldman Sachs, Culmia Desarrollos Inmobiliario (Oaktree's Spanish Real Estate developer), DWS (DB), Castellana Properties SOCIMI, Invesco, Ferrovial, IGIS Asset Management, Savills IM & Samsung.

Ismael holds a master's in urban planning from the Universidad Carlos III (Madrid). He also has an MBA for professionals from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. He was the first Spanish lawyer to be appointed as a member of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and he's currently a member of their board in Spain.

  • Goldman Sachs International | Lead Partner | 2020-present | We have advised on the creation, management and expansion of their logistics platform in Spain through strategic alliances with local trusted developers for recurring deals under forward funding or forward purchase schemes, securing and closing over 10 major logistics developments located across the county; the scope of our work including JV issues and corporate services, projects acquisition (comprising NBOs, due diligence with urban planning feasibility, acquisition documents, complex development/construction documents, and forward purchase agreements), tax, employment and disputes advice, and offering Spanish RE perspective on multiple rounds of financing for the portfolio, with a UK law component.
  • CBRE | Lead Partner | 2026 | Advised on the sale, through a competitive process, of Airesur shopping center located in Sevilla, through an asset deal.
  • Castellana Properties SOCIMI | Lead Partner | 2016-present | We have advised this long-standing client on multiple deals involving shopping centers, retail parks and office buildings, of which the most significant and recent are (i) the acquisition of a 50% stake in the Splau shopping center in Barcelona through the acquisition of a 50% shareholding of the company owning the shopping center, valued at €350 million, through a joint venture with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW); (ii) the acquisition of the company owner of the shopping center Berceo located in Logroño; (iii) the sale of a portfolio of retails parks, through the sales of the shares of the companies owning 9 retail parks; (iv)
  • Culmia Desarrollos Inmobiliarios S.L. | Lead Partner | 2021-present | We have advised Culmia on several very important BTR and affordable housing deals over the years: (i) the sale to MEAG of 50% of a residential portfolio (through the sale of 50% of three different companies) comprising around 1,800 affordable housing units to be operated under a social rental scheme, located in the Community of Madrid, Valencia and Benidorm; (ii) the setting-up of the JV with Invesco and Santander for the acquisition and subsequent development of a plot of land in La Solana (Madrid), both on the corporate and the real estate sides, including the land acquisition, investment agreements, asset management and development agreements, financing. etc.; (iii) the closing of the sale, through a share deal, from Saturn Holdco S.A. to DWS Grundbesitz GmbH of 100% of the share capital of the company Tarvos Activos Inmobiliarios, the owner of an administrative concession of a residential social housing Portfolio, within the framework of the Plan Vive process handled by the Madrid Regional Government; (iv) the constitution of a joint venture with Patron Capital with the purpose of acquiring several plots of land across Spain, developing each plot and selling the units; (v) the sale of a residential property located in Badalona, to CBRE Investment Management Southern Europe; (vi) the sale of a surface right over 5 plots of public land located in the Community of Madrid known as “Lote 5” to Bankinter, under a forward purchase turn-key basis; (vii) the financing for the development of 1,137 affordable rental housing units under "Lote 4" of the Madrid Regional Government's "Plan Vive," a public-private partnership program through which the regional government awards lots to the private sector for the development and operation of affordable residential rental units.
  • DWS Grundbesitz GMBH | Lead Partner | 2017-present | We have advised the real estate division of Deutsche Bank on a wide range of deals – from logistics acquisitions and development, through divestment, office leasing, to residential build-to-rent and affordable housing investment.
  • Invesco Real Estate | 2024-2026 | We advised on the sale of 100% of the shares of the company owning a plot of land located in Barcelona for the future development of a student residence; on the acquisition of a logistic warehouse on a forward purchase and turn-key basis in Pinto (Madrid); on the acquisition of a residential building composed of 4 blocks together with garden areas located in Marbella through a share deal consisting of the purchase of 100% of the shares of its owner; and on the acquisition of two residential buildings located in Arganda del Rey (Madrid), under a build to rent scheme.
  • IGIS Asset Management | Lead Partner | 2025 | We advised on the sale, through a competitive process, of 100% of the shares in the share capital of the company owning the offices complex where the Nestle´s Spanish headquarters are located.
  • Grupo Inmobiliario Delta | Lead Partner | 2024 2025| We provided legal advice on the tender process and sale of several plots of land, together with the access and connection permit, for the future development of data centers in Alcobendas, covering the arising urban planning, regulatory, and real estate issues arising, as well as the negotiation of the acquisition contract, including the assignment of the access and connection permit and its associated obligations. Data centers are highly sought-after assets in today's real estate market, combining significant commercial interest with considerable legal and technical complexity.
  • Savills and Samsung | Lead Partner | 2023-2024 | We advised on (i) the acquisition of 70% of the target company's shares, by which a joint venture between Savills and Greystar was created, and on the acquisition of a build-to-rent residential asset through a forward purchase agreement; (ii) the acquisition, via share deal, of a residential complex comprised of 209 dwellings, 248 parking spaces and 4 retail units, the subsequent refinancing of the development and the property management agreements.
  • ASG Iberia Advisors | Lead Partner | 2024 | We advised on the sale of 100% of the share capital of three Spanish companies, owners of a hotel business in the city of Málaga (real estate asset + management+ hotel catering); and on the sale of 100% of the share capital of the Spanish company owner of the shopping centers Zubiarte (Bilbao) and Ruta de la Plata (Cáceres), as well as on the sale of the shopping center SOM Multiespai (Barcelona).Areas of focus

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