Eversheds has landed a role opposite Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer on the $1.1bn (£542m) acquisition of a retirement home portfolio from Sunrise Senior Living in one of the biggest deals in the sector this year.

Eversheds took the lead advising Sunrise on the sale of a collection of 15 five-star care home facilities in the UK to Morgan Stanley Real Estate. The team was led by client partner William Naunton (pictured), assisted by corporate partner Neil Matthews.

Freshfields was instructed on behalf of Morgan Stanley under real estate partner Ursula Harriss, along with corporate partners Matthew Cosans and Karen Fountain.

As part of the deal, Sunrise has entered into a joint venture with Morgan Stanley to operate the care homes under a 30-year management agreement. Morgan Stanley will hold a 90% stake, with Sunrise retaining the remaining 10%.

The 15 retirement communities were developed, or are in the process of being developed, by Sunrise in partnership with institutional backers Pramerica Real Estate Investors. Eversheds also advised Pramerica on the deal.

US-based Sunrise is the largest global operator of retirement homes, with more than 52,000 residents worldwide. It is a longstanding client of Eversheds, which has acted for the group since it entered into the UK marketplace in 1999.

The deal is the first investment for Morgan Stanley in the assisted living market in the UK and is further evidence of consolidation in a sector that has been particularly active recently.

Naunton commented: "The retirement home sector has become an asset class in its own right. A few years ago they were fairly uninteresting but now there is a large number of bespoke facilities run by bigger, more sophisticated entities. In a way it is a variation on the hotel market, without the fluctuations according to market conditions."

In other major deals in the sector, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom advised Three Delta opposite Freshfields at the beginning of the month on the £1.4bn acquisition of care home chain Four Seasons Healthcare from Allianz.

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