Biris Goran’s real estate practice provides clients with comprehensive services encompassing the full range of commercial real estate and development issues. We have been consistently ranked as one of the leading firms providing legal advice on real estate in Romania, by such guides as Chambers Europe, the Legal 500, and PLC Which lawyer?. The 2009 edition of Chambers Europe mentions the Real Estate practice as being “noted for its proficiency in tax-related real estate matters and regulatory issues” as being “highly active in the past year.” Clients are reported to “benefit from the lawyers’ understanding of the local market and expertise in complex cross-border structuring”, quoted as saying “we receive a tailor-made service and are particularly impressed with the group’s international approach”.
We serve domestic and international clients, including institutional and private real estate funds, owners, tenants, residential and commercial developers, construction companies and permanent lenders. But it is not simply the quality of our advice, based on a mix of Western experience and local knowledge, that has already won us loyal clients. Just as important is our ability to create imaginative solutions in a market that can be very daunting. Our experienced team stands out, thanks to the rare blend of commercial and legal expertise it has to offer.
Our particular areas of expertise include:
Acquisitions and Dispositions. We represent clients in the sale or purchase of raw land for development of shopping centres, hotels, office buildings, and logistics centres. We have a detailed due diligence process that highlights areas of concern to the client and gives clear recommendations regarding future action.
Taxation. Unlike other firms, we are able to advise not only on the legal aspects of a transaction, but on the tax aspects as well. Our expertise in taxation and corporate law allows us to structure transactions - both from a domestic and international perspective - in an efficient manner.
Joint Ventures. We routinely represent clients in forming joint ventures with private parties or governmental bodies in order to achieve their investments.
Construction and Development. We handle all aspects of development projects. We prepare and negotiate design, construction (FIDIC) and development management, as well as all types of ancillary documentation and related negotiations and advice on regulatory matters.
Commercial Leasing. We represent clients in the leasing of commercial or hotel properties - from short-term rentals of office space to long term hotel or hypermarket leases.
Financing. We represent lenders and borrowers in all types of lending arrangements and in the preparation of related collateral.
Fund Formation. Our real estate group can advise on the formation of investment funds for various classes of real estate investment.
Our real estate practice group is headed by Victor Constantinescu and Raluca Nastase.
- Performed owner/vendor due diligence on two major shopping centers (all legal aspects, including title, leases, and permits) located outside of Bucharest for two different investment groups, in view of a possible sale (March 2010 and July 2010);
- Advised the Romanian subsidiary of Dachser Logistics, one of Europe’s largest logistics operators, in an acquisition of land outside of Bucharest to develop a greenfield warehouse facility, and ongoing support for its development (May 2010);
- Advised Sparkassen Immobilien (Immorent) on a shell-and-core EUR 70 million construction agreement (MDB FIDIC), as well as electro-mechanical works agreement, as well as various development, leasing, and regulatory matters, for Sun Plaza, the largest shopping centre in Romania by GLA (opened February 2010);
- Advising First Title Insurance, the European subsidiary of First American Corporation, and one of Europe’s largest providers of title insurance, on various title investigation and due diligence for potential owners seeking title insurance in Romania;
- Legal adviser to Upground Estates on the delivery to the buyer of the office building, a transaction of more than EUR 100 million, as part of the transaction concluded in October 2008 in the sale of a real estate development to RREEF (real estate arm of Deutsche Bank) and EFG Bank (approximately EUR 340 million), the largest real estate transaction in Romania to date, (October 2009);
- Advised Portico Investments, a leading real estate investor in Romania, on a EUR 6.3 million re-financing of a logistics site with ING Credit IFN SA (February 2010), as well as on a large number of other legal matters regarding leasing, construction, litigation and corporate matters for its investment portfolio in Romania;
- Legal adviser to Plus Development, an important European real estate developer, in the sale procedure of a large number of residential units. Advice included insolvency procedure and constructor’s lien matters (December 2009);
- Various legal advice and tax structuring for Adama, the largest residential developer in Romania, including a group-wide due diligence (February 2010);
- Ongoing advice to two leading US forestry funds, Four Winds Capital Management Inc. and RMK Timberland Group, with respect to potential forestry acquisitions in Romania;
- Advice on leasing matters for Proges, one of Romania’s largest retailers of flooring and other home finishings;
- Assisting RPF Developments, an important real estate development company in Romania, in a litigation matter including zoning.