Brice Engel

Partner, Paris

Biography

“Commended as ‘an outstanding lawyer, an excellent technician and a very fine negotiator’”
Legal 500 EMEA France, Real Estate, 2025

Overview

Brice Engel is Head of the Real Estate practice in White & Case Paris. Brice specializes in mergers and acquisitions, and real estate law, and has worked at both the White & Case Paris and White & Case New York offices.

He regularly advises investment funds, real estate groups and institutional investors, on the acquisition, development and financing of retail and office properties in Europe. Brice has also gained significant experience in transactions and developments within the hospitality and datacenter industries, acting both on behalf of the owner and the operator. His practice also covers real estate asset management, and he supports clients throughout the development, marketing and management of their assets.

Brice also lectures on the Master 2 programme of the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, and at the Université de Picardie, on the subject of mergers and acquisitions.

Bars and Courts
Paris
Education
Post graduate (DESS) in Business Law
University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas
MBA
ESSEC
Languages
French
English

Experience

Cardif Assurance Vie (2025)
Representation of Cardif, a leading life insurer, on several lease negotiations representing a surface area in excess of 15,000 sq. m. over Q1, and relating to prime assets; such operations notably including the partnership with Louis Vuitton Malletier for the provision of the Etoile du Nord building for its Women's Fall-Winter 2025 fashion show.

Caisse des Dépôts (2025)
Representation of Caisse des Dépôts, a leading French long-term institutional investor, on its acquisition of a 15% stake in the Westfield Forum des Halles shopping centre, a 77,600 m² flagship shopping centre in the heart of Paris.

Achernar Assets (2025)
Representation of Achernar Assets AG, a Swiss-based investment holding company, in its acquisition of the Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco.

Alfa Laval (2025)
Representation of Alfa Laval in connection with the entry into exclusive negotiations for the acquisition of Fives Cryogenics from the Fives.

Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesselschaft (2025)
Representation of Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesselschaft, a leading global liner shipping company, on its acquisition of the French group CNMP, which provides logistics services, including terminal operations, cargo storage, and transportation services in the port of Le Havre, France.

Cary Group (2025)
Representation of Cary Group, owned by Nordic Capital and CVC, on the acquisition of the French group 123 Pare-Brise, a leading independent vehicle glass repair and replacement specialist in France.

Klépierre (2024)
Representation of Klépierre, a real estate investment trust focused on shopping centers, in connection with the acquisition of one of the largest French shopping centres in the Paris region, in partnership with funds managed by Sofidy, a real estate firm and subsidiary of Tikehau Capital.

Marriott France (2024)
Representation of Marriott France Group Companies SAS as hotel manager in a pre-litigation dispute with 59 Poin threatening to terminate a F&B supply contract.

Banque des Territoires (2024)
Representation of Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations) on the acquisition by Calypso, an investment platform jointly owned by VALOREM (51%) and Banque des Territoires (Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations) (49%), of a new portfolio comprising 20 solar and wind power plants from VALOREM, an independent green energy operator.

Checkmyguest (2024)
Representation of the founders of Checkmyguest, a French technology company that manages short and medium-term rental properties, on its merger with Oyo, the world's tenth largest hotel group.

Mirova (2024)
Representation of Mirova, a global asset management company dedicated to sustainable investing and an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, on its €480 million investment in RP Global to accelerate pan-European renewable energy development.

Mercedes-Benz (2023)
Advised Mercedes-Benz on the cooperation agreement for its strategic partnership with energy company E.ON for the establishment and operation of the new Europe-wide Mercedes-Benz charging network, which enables fast, safe and environmentally friendly charging of electric vehicles.

Catella (2023)
Representation of Catella on the acquisition of 60 percent of the shares in Aquila Asset Management.

Icade Santé (2023)
Representation of healthcare property investor Icade Santé and its minority shareholders Predica, Sogecap and BNP Paribas Cardif on the sale of Icade's stake in Icade Santé to European real estate asset management platform Primonial REIM.

Mark III Holdings BV (MARK) (2022)
Representation of Mark III Holdings BV (MARK), a subsidiary of MARK Capital Management (formerly known as Meyer Bergman), on the sale of Pershing Hall, a flagship mixed-use development in Paris' Golden Triangle, to Allianz Vie.

Digital Realty (NYSE:DLR) (2021)
Representation of Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, on its sale of a portfolio of 11 European data centers to Ascendas Reit, a CapitaLand sponsored REIT, for €569 million, approximately US$680 million.

THOM Group (2021)
Representation of THOM Group, a leader in affordable jewellery throughout Europe, on the acquisition out of bankruptcy of the French jewellery brand Agatha Group, made together with Renaissance Luxury Group through its subsidiary Altesse.

Aéma Groupe (2021)
Representation of Aéma Groupe, a leading French mutual insurer formed through the combination of Macif Group and Aésio Mutuelle, on entry into exclusive negotiations with Aviva, one of the leading insurers in Europe, to acquire Aviva France for €3.2 billion.

Macif (2021)
Representation of Macif in connection with its majority investment in Crédit Expert, specialized in real estate credit brokerage.

Oaktree Capital Management (2021)
Representation of the private equity fund Oaktree Capital Management in the quasi equity financing of the hotel asset manager Paris Inn developing and managing a portfolio of 35 hotels in order to refinance certain of its existing indebtedness and new development projects in France.

Clariane (2021)
Representation of Clariane (formerly Korian), the leading European care services group for elderly and vulnerable people, on its entry into exclusive negotiations with Colisée to sell 21 facilities and Vivalto Vie to sell 11 facilities.

Aviva Real Estate Investor (2020)
Representation of Aviva Real Estate Investor in connection with a property development contract with Sogelym Dixence for a residential site composed of three buildings in Levallois-Perret.

Caisse des Dépôts (2020)
Representation of Caisse des Dépôts and ACM in connection with the acquisition of M57 building from BNP Paribas Real Estate.

Prédica and La Française (2020)
Representation of Prédica and La Française in connection with a joint venture agreement entered into with Unibail-Rodamco Westfield regarding their investment in a new real estate company owning a EUR 2 billion portfolio of 5 major commercial malls located in France.

Awards and Recognition

Leading Lawyer, Legal 500 Europe since 2012
Real Estate – France

Ranked by Chambers Europe 2017
Real Estate – France