Andrew Steele

Partner Sydney

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He is not just a lawyer, but he thinks holistically about a project - he will become a business adviser and immerse himself in the deal.

– Chambers Asia Pacific

Overview

Andrew Steele is the National Practice Group Leader of the Real Estate team and is recognised as one of Australia's leading property lawyers, focusing on both advice and transactional aspects of property law.

Andrew has over 25 years' experience working closely with a range of clients including government agencies, fund managers, financial institutions, restructuring and insolvency practitioners and developers.

Andrew's experience includes advising the NSW State Government on complex title matters and local governments on the acquisition and development of strategic sites. His expertise also extends to the private sector and includes advising clients on the development, acquisition and disposal of industrial, hotel, retail and other commercial properties, negotiating development agreements, joint venture documents and management agreements.

Andrew is keenly focused on providing practical commercial solutions and has a particular interest in understanding transaction objectives and collaborating on the formulation of, and executing transaction strategy.

Andrew especially enjoys his involvement in projects that generate employment and transform communities, including social and affordable housing and health infrastructure projects.

Notable Work

Health Infrastructure NSW: Andrew is currently acting for Health Infrastructure in relation to the acquisition of strategic sites for its $615M Ambulance Infrastructure Program.
Celestino: Advising Celestino on its A$5bn Sydney Science Park project that will create an internationally recognised epicentre for research and development in the heart of Western Sydney. Set over 280ha, Sydney Science Park will be a fully integrated community that will create more than 12,000 knowledge based jobs, cater to over 10,000 students and be home to over 10,000 residents. Andrew is providing complex titling advice, acquiring greenfield sites and assisting Celestino in relation to its dealings with the local authority in connection with the ownership and management of publicly accessible areas (including complex insurance and indemnity issues).
Goodman: Andrew has acted for Goodman in connection with the development of the Oakdale Industrial Estate, a 440 hectare logistics hub, including multiple agreements for lease to the likes of DHL, Sigma Pharmaceuticals, Iron Mountain and Briggs & Stratton, and the development and divestment of sites to Toyota and Costco. Andrew's involvement included the establishment of a development joint venture between Goodman and Brickworks and complex agreements for lease, easements and option arrangements.
Goodman: Andrew acted for Goodman on its acquisition of the former Australian Broadcasting Corporation site at Artarmon in Sydney which completed in late January 2023.
AXA IM - Real Assets: Advised AXA on its development of a health care precinct, which includes the development and operation of an 83 bed aged care facility, a public hospital and 69 units retirement living units in Victoria with Calvary Healthcare (the Catholic Church). The development value was $140 million
Insolvency Practitioners: Andrew has a wealth of experience acting for IPs in relation to the management and disposal of real estate assets, including acting for the receivers and managers of ABC Learning Centres.
CBA: For over 20 years, Andrew has advised CBA in relation to a variety of real estate matters, including lease negotiations, lease disputes, real estate due diligence in relation to lending transactions and sales (and leasebacks) of Bank freehold property. Andrew works closely with the Bank's Group Property & Security team to deliver sensible commercial outcomes, including in relation to real estate disputes.
AXA IM: Andrew acts for AXA IM in relation to its collaboration with St George Community Housing to deliver social and affordable housing in Australia. As part of this collaboration, Andrew and the Clayton Utz team assisted AXA IM with the acquisition of a development site in Westmead, Sydney for the purposes of the development of sustainable and market-leading housing for, amongst others, key health workers who are essential to supporting the health and wellbeing of the community.
AXA IM – Real Assets: Andrew acted for AXA IM – Real Assets in connection with its acquisition of a portfolio of Accor managed hotels in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, including conducting title, lease and management agreement due diligence, negotiating transaction documents and attending to project close. Andrew acted for AXA IM – Real Assets) in relation to its disposal of its portfolio of InterContinental Hotel Group managed assets located throughout Australia for $500M.
Squadron Energy - CWP Renewables: Acted for Squadron Energy on the acquisition of CWP Renewables who own a portfolio of solar and wind farms and battery energy storage centres at locations across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. With a combined renewable energy operating portfolio of 2.4 gigawatts (GW) and an Australian development pipeline of 20GW, Squadron Energy will soon generate enough power to provide enough electricity to power 8.5 million Australian homes accelerating the nation’s energy transition to cleaner and more dependable sources of renewable energy. This transformational transaction represents Australia's largest renewable energy deal to-date causing Squadron Energy to successfully become Australia’s largest renewable energy investor, operator and developer. Andrew assisted Squadron Energy to navigate the various real property issues impacting the transaction arising from the vast and complex portfolio of operational and development assets owned by CWP Renewables, and advised Squadron Energy on the negotiation of real estate aspects of the transaction documents.
The City of Sydney: Advising The Council for the City of Sydney on its disposal of the former Fig and Wattle Street Depot. The disposal, by means of an Expression of Interest process, will see the reactivation of this area of Sydney. The purchaser will not only be required to develop the 1.2 hectare site for mixed-uses but will also have to provide back to the City a multi-use 2-court indoor recreation centre and a 91-place child care centre. Having advised both sectors on land activation and precinct developments allows Andrew to provide a holistic approach to any project as he understands the balance of competing Government and private interests.
The City of Sydney: Andrew acted for The City of Sydney in relation to its acquisition of The Woolstores, Alexandria for $110M in late 2022.
NSW Department of Industry: Andrew acted for the NSW Department of Industry in relation to the Western NSW Radars Project Agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Bureau of Meteorology. The project involves the installation of 3-doppler weather radars to enable enhanced decision making amongst farmers, industry, emergency services and the public, by strengthening the weather radar network in western NSW.
Landcom: Assisting Landcom with its acquisition of a development site at the Glenfield – Hurlstone Agricultural High School from the NSW State Government.

Andrew Steele

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