Our firm specialises in cross-border investments and offers a full range of legal services in the areas of real estate, construction and infrastructure, including real estate investment and development, real estate finance and tax, real estate construction, planning/zoning and real estate disputes.

We serve a diverse client base, which includes public and private companies, investment banks and other financial institutions, real estate funds, hotel owners and operators, retailers, corporate occupiers, property developers and construction companies.

Acting for a diverse client base enables us to view matters from different perspectives and to encounter and handle a wide array of legal issues. Our work involves, inter alia:

- acting for clients participating both in public tenders launched by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) regarding the acquisition of state-owned assets and in private tenders regarding high-value assets, including hotels;

- advising clients during the tendering and selection process, ensuring bid compliance with tender documents, conducting due diligence of the properties and negotiating and concluding sale and purchase or sale and leaseback agreements;

- negotiating and concluding long-term commercial leases, sale and leaseback agreements, concession agreements, public-private partnerships and BOT contracts;

- advising clients on the formation and operation of investment vehicles, such as real estate funds, joint ventures and partnerships and on all relevant regulatory and tax-related matters;

- handling environmental and taxation issues arising from the construction and/ or the acquisition of real estate;

- advising clients on all aspects of real estate finance, including structured finance, securitisations, mortgage loans, loan and mortgage restructurings and foreclosures;

- securing planning and construction permits, listed building and conservation area consents; and

- advising clients on public real estate assets, including sale & leaseback agreements, long-term leasing, concession agreements and other forms of commercial exploitation of public assets.

Our practice group specialises in real estate finance and serves both borrowers and lenders. Our experience ranges from commercial loans to revolving credit facilities, syndicated loans and secured financings. We advise clients on the securitisation of loans and other receivables, CMBS tranches (commercial mortgage-backed securities), A/B (asset-backed securities) and senior/mezzanine loans secured by all types of real estate assets.

We also has unrivalled expertise in complex commercial real estate transactions and we guide our clients through every stage of the acquisition process. Our works includes conducting due diligence of the properties, reviewing titles and lease agreements, resolving land use and zoning issues, handling environmental and taxation issues, negotiating and concluding loan agreements with financing banks and sale and purchase agreements with property owners, participating in the development and construction processes.

Our real estate expertise extends to the hotel and leisure industry and our lawyers have a thorough understanding of all issues pertaining to hotels and luxury resorts. We advise clients on virtually every aspect of hotel acquisitions and disposals, hotel management, hotel development and construction. We have advised clients on some of the largest hotel acquisitions in Greece in recent years.

Financing transactions also form an integral part of our practice ranging from equity capital market fundraisings, bond issues to hotel acquisition and indirect real estate investments through minority shareholdings or joint ventures.

Handling all aspects of hotel transactions enables us to provide an all-round service to clients and to identify and manage all kinds of risks arising from such transactions. Our work begins at a very early stage by assisting clients in public and private tenders for the acquisition of world-renowned hotels and ensuring bid compliance with tender documents. Our work also includes: conducting detailed due diligence of properties, reviewing titles, financials, hotel operators agreements, insurance documents, leasing agreements, management agreements, obtaining permits and addressing all labor issues and regulatory concerns. In hotel development transactions, our expertise is, inter alia, sought for the negotiation and conclusion of project development agreements, assistance with the permitted uses of the properties and licensing processes, general contractor and subcontractor agreements, management agreements, service contracts and employment agreements and for obtaining all necessary permits and licenses for the operation of hotels.

In the field of projects, we have leading expertise and a strong track record in having acted in some of the most large-scale projects such as PFI transactions, project finance for all types of projects, public-private partnerships and concession agreements in all industry sectors such as infrastructure, transport, oil and gas, tourism, leisure, energy and renewables, water and waste, mining and telecoms.

In addition to our premier real estate and projects transactional expertise, we have been instrumental in shaping public real estate laws and have participated in the drafting of legislation concerning several forms of commercial exploitation of public real estate assets through modern financial instruments.

“The Firm is the best Firm I have engaged in Greece for real estate work. They have widespread experience in this area, and their quality of work is impeccable”. The Legal 500, 2021.

“A wealth of legal and practical experience including on major transactions and a prime reputation and quality in this area”. The Legal 500, 2021.

“They have very broad real estate experience and have acted on some of the most landmark transactions, especially in the real estate/hotels sector but also across the board on a number of commercial real estate transactions of all types”. The Legal 500, 2021.

“They are very well-known for their real estate finance experience and have acted on some of the major real estate finance deals”. The Legal 500, 2021.

“They have acted on the full range of real estate matters, spanning from large hotel transactions to commercial real estate deals and real estate transactions relating to non-performing loans”. The Legal 500, 2021.