Robert G.S. Hull Partner


Speaks:  English, French

Year of Call: 1981 - Ontario

Primary phone: +1 416-369-7313

Secondary phone: +1 416-723 -6172

Fax: +1 416-862-7661

Email: robert.hull@gowlingwlg.com

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Primary office:  Toronto




Robert G.S. Hull

Robert Hull is a partner in Gowling WLG's Toronto office, practising corporate, commercial and securities law, with specialties in real estate and infrastructure securities and fund formation, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance.

Bob works extensively in structuring private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset class investment products on behalf of major Canadian pension and endowment funds, asset managers, investment dealers and global investors in the Canadian marketplace. He also represents numerous domestic and international business concerns active in the Canadian industry sectors of energy, steel, waste management, transportation, distribution, healthcare, institutional real estate and the infrastructure supply chain. Bob enjoys contributing to the market development and successful growth of his clients through their mergers and acquisitions transactions, and their equity and debt capital transactions.

Bob serves as the chair of The George Hull Centre Foundation, the private fundraising arm of The George Hull Centre for Children and Families, a leading children's mental health centre in the west end of Toronto, and is the past chair of the Board of Governors of Humber College of Applied Arts and Technology, Ontario's largest college. He most recently served on the Municipal Performance Committee of the Toronto Board of Trade, and serves as a director of several Canadian corporations.

Prior to the merger of Smith Lyons with Gowling WLG, Bob served as partner-in-charge of client relations, partner-in-charge of international operations, and as a member of the Smith Lyons executive committee.

Bob practises in English and French.

Career & Recognition

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Representative Work

Below are some of Bob's representative transactions and clients:

  • Advising Cooper Equipment Rentals Limited on its syndicated asset-based senior credit facilities
  • Counsel to Cooper Equipment Rentals Limited on its national strategic growth and cross-Canada acquisitions including SMS Rents, Alberta Lift, Star Rentals, Herc Atlantic, EZE Rent-it Centre, and Stayner Rental
  • Acting for Beutel Goodman on the sale of the $1 billion portfolio managed by Beutel Goodman Real Estate Group to Bentall Investment Management
  • Acting as counsel to LaSalle Investment Management, a subsidiary of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE), on the structuring, creation and operation of its closed end Canadian institutional real estate investment pools and its open end core Fund, LaSalle Canada Property Fund, L.P.
  • Counsel to IAM Real Estate Group (now Fiera Real Estate) in the structuring and creation of its 12 GPM closed end institutional investment pools, and Fiera Small Cap Industrial Fund, its open end fund
  • Counsel to the City of Vaughan and Hydro Vaughan Distribution Inc. in the latter's mergers with Markham Hydro and Richmond Hill Hydro to create PowerStream Inc., and subsequent acquisition by PowerStream of Aurora Hydro Systems
  • Counsel to PowerStream Inc. with respect to its offering of $200,000,000 principal amount of 30-year Series A Debentures
  • Counsel to PowerStream on its successful merger with Horizon Utilities and Enersource Hydro to create Alectra Inc. in 2017, and the related acquisition by Alectra of Hydro One Brampton from the Province of Ontario
  • Counsel to Alectra Inc. on the merger of its subsidiary, Alectra Utilities Corporation, with Guelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc. on January 1, 2019
  • Counsel to Alectra Inc. on its mergers and acquisitions strategy and strategic growth plan
  • Counsel to Credit Suisse Asset Management of Zurich for the Canadian investments of Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund International. Recent transactions include the acquisition and development of the Old Stock Exchange Building in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Counsel to Browning-Ferris Industries in the Matter of Med-Tech Environmental Limited, heard by the Ontario Securities Commission in 1998 with respect to a contested take-over bid for Med-Tech Environmental (1998), 21 OSCB 7607
  • Advising major Canadian pension funds, including Canada Mortgage Housing and Corporation Pension Plan, International Carpenters Pension Plan, OP Trust, Canada Post Corporation Registered Pension Plan, Caisse de Retraite d'Hydro Québec, HOOPP, Régime de Rentes du Mouvement Desjardins, Saskatchewan Health Care Employees' Pension Plan, Prince Edward Island Master Trust and CBC Pension Board of Trustees on real estate, infrastructure and private equity investment projects and vehicles
  • Counsel to Fiera Properties Limited (now Fiera Real Estate) in the structure, creation and ongoing operation of its open end institutional realty investment vehicle, Fiera Properties CORE Fund
  • Counsel to Canadian Urban Limited of Edmonton in the structure, creation and operation of its pension realty investment vehicles
  • Counsel to the Canadian Football League in connection with the sale and transfer of its Ottawa Rough Riders franchise
  • Counsel to the acquiror of Diversicare (now Verve) Canada Management Services Co., Inc., which owns and operates the Diversicare seniors' and retirement residences across Canada, from Advocat Inc. of Nashville, Tennessee
  • Counsel to Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, one of North America's most successful steel service distribution organizations, including the going private transaction for its 71% owned subsidiary Samuel Manu-Tech Inc. (TSX); Samuel's senior credit facilities from a syndicate of North American banks; and its strategic mergers and acquisitions transactions
  • Counsel to Real I.S. AG of Munich, the investment subsidiary of Bayerische Landesbank, with respect to its Canadian investments
  • Counsel to IGB Canada Retail Fund I, Limited Partnership, in its acquisition of Tremblant Retail Villages at Mont Tremblant, Quebec on behalf of German Investors
  • Counsel to Aurion Capital Management Inc., an institutional investment counsel and portfolio manager, including advising Aurion on the sale of a 60% equity interest to Dundee Wealth Inc. and subsequent sale of the remaining 40% equity interests to Scotiabank
  • Counsel to syndicates of Canadian pension fund investors in connection with the structure and initial closing of Strathallen Retail Fund 3 LP, Strathallen 4 and Strathallen 5, all of which are grocery/pharma anchored retail real estate investment funds managed by Strathallen Capital Corporation
  • Counsel to a syndicate of Canadian pension fund investors in connection with the structuring of Realstar Apartments Partnership (2011), RAP II (2013), RAP 3 (2015), RAP 4 (2018) and RAP 5 (2021)
  • Counsel to Ivara Corporation with respect to the acquisition by Bentley Systems Inc. of all of Ivara's issued and outstanding share capital
  • Counsel to Minto Properties on the creation and capitalization of Minto Multi-Residential Income Partners I, LP, a closed end, multi-residential real estate investment fund for Canadian pension fund investors
  • Counsel to Crown Realty Partners in the creation of its closed end realty investments funds
  • Counsel to Guardian Capital in the creation and operation of its open end real estate investment fund, Guardian Capital Real Estate Fund LP
  • Advised the owners of GAL Elevator Components on the sale of its GAL Canada operations to Golden Gate Capital of San Francisco