Real Estate, Hospitality & Projects

Ranked for more than 15 years as a leading Real Estate practice by The Legal 500, our firm specialises in cross‑border investments and offers a full range of legal services in the areas of real estate, hospitality, construction and infrastructure, including real estate investment and development, real estate finance and tax, real estate construction, planning/zoning and real estate disputes.

Our experience and expertise are reflected in our broad and 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) for the acquisition, preparation, development and concession of state‑owned assets, as well as in private tenders for high‑value real estate and hotel assets
• 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; 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 have unrivalled expertise in complex commercial real estate transactions and we guide our clients through every stage of the acquisition process. Our work includes conducting due diligence of the properties, reviewing titles and lease agreements, resolving land use issues, handling environmental and taxation issues, negotiating and concluding loan agreements with financing banks and sale and purchase agreements with property owners, and participating in the development and construction processes.

Our expertise extends to the hospitality and tourism sector, encompassing the full range of legal matters relating to hotels, luxury resorts and complex tourism developments. We provide comprehensive legal advice and support on the acquisition and disposal of hotel properties, as well as on development, construction, management and operations.

We have been involved in some of the most significant hotel transactions in Greece in recent years, bringing extensive transactional experience and a deep understanding of the sector and its specific characteristics.

Financing transactions also form an integral part of our practice, ranging from equity capital market fundraisings and bond issues to hotel acquisitions 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, hotel operator agreements, insurance documents, leasing agreements, management agreements, obtaining permits and addressing all labour 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, 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.