Real Estate and Construction Lawyers — Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (Russia) LLP

Real Estate Law Firm of the Year in Russia – Best Lawyers Awards 2017 - 2020
and in the UK – The Legal 500 UK Awards 2019

WHAT WE DO/ SPECIFIC AREAS OF FOCUS

Our global market-leading team of Real Estate & Construction Practice consists of over 360 dedicated and experienced lawyers in 31 offices throughout the world. It is one of the biggest practices in Russia and the United Kingdom. Real estate and Constructions practice of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (Russia) for several years has been top-ranked / highly recommended (Band 1) by major international legal directories the Legal 500, Chambers & Partners 2011 – 2019. The practice is widely recognized as the first real estate port of call for many high-profile international companies established or investing in Russia.

IFLR 2020
Profound knowledge of legislation, pro-active approach.

Property-related projects are often non-core business for many of our clients. We help them navigate through unfamiliar and complicated matters to find a viable solution. Our resources, unparalleled expertise across the wider real estate sector, as well as the practical experience accumulated by our team over many years, furnish a solid foundation for our clients, providing them with quality legal services in all aspects of commercial property, including: office, retail, warehouse and industrial property; hotel and entertainment businesses; public infrastructure; and government and municipal property.

We have over 20 years of experience in supporting large-scale foreign direct investment projects in Russia from “0” level up to day to day operational legal advice and market leading complex and innovative transactions. In addition to our established legal expertise, we have developed innovative management systems and sophisticated information systems, enabling us to implement complex engagements effectively.

The Legal 500 2020
A very practical and thoughtful team which covers the whole spectrum of real estate issues. All team members are very creative, client-oriented and dedicated to completing a task.

Over 600 real estate and construction projects in the last 10 years predominantly associated with setting up manufacturing facilities for major multinational investors in different regions of Russia.

For more details about our international experience, please click here.

Chambers Europe 2019
The team is recognised as one of the leaders in the market, with clients describing their experience as "very positive; they go the extra mile for the client," as well as offering "excellent value for money."

Experience

Real estate & construction

Acted for the Far East and Baikal Region Development Fund on a RUB 2 bn secured loan for construction of a new terminal at Khabarovsk International Airport servicing domestic flights and the airport infrastructure.

Acted for Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, eBay, Kimberly-Clark, Motorola, Nike, Philips, Procter & Gamble, PVH (Tommy Hilfiger & Calvin Klein), Saint-Gobain, Toyota Bank, Volkswagen on national HQ office leases.

Real estate & construction

Advised Westminster Property Ventures on sale of the Tsentralnaya Hotel, the famous 19th century Filippov house on Tverskaya Street, to IHI plc, owners of the Malta-based Corinthia Hotels Group, and its Russian partners. The Buyer plans to renovate the building into a luxury Corinthia Hotel and branded serviced apartments for sale.

Real estate & construction

Advised Invest AG on the sale of a Class A Business centre on the Rublevo-Uspenskoye Highway to the Moscow Region Government.

Real estate & construction

Represented UFG Real Estate Russia and Orientir Development (former Logopark Development) in a sale transaction of the Sever-2 logistics park to Raven Russia.

Real estate & construction

Advised a joint venture partner of the Georgian Co-investment Fund on development and operation of a hydro power plant in Georgia, including bespoke structuring analysis based on advice on the laws of 5 jurisdictions (Russia, Georgia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK), as well as analysis of Georgian and European tax treaty policy developments, in order to anticipate possible treaty renegotiations that might affect the structure.

Real estate & construction

Advising Mistral Wine, a major food and alcohol producer and distributor, a part of the Mistral group, on its acquisition of 200 ha of vineyards and a winery with a designed output of 840,000 litres per year in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai. The deal is the first big-ticket investment by the Group, one of the leading domestic alcohol importers, in its own wine estate in Russia.

Advised the combined company of Leader-Invest / Etalon – a Sistema major full cycle developer – on sale to Raiffeisenbank of an office building to be built as part of the high-rise urban development at Nagatino i-land. The new 16-floor business centre will have an area of 34,000 sq.m.

Advised Nord Stream AG, Nord Stream 2 AG on the legal aspects of construction of the Russian component of the submarine gas pipeline. Matters advised on included international law, environmental aspects, re-categorisation of forest and agricultural land, liaisons with government authorities, permission documentation, construction, permits, authorisations and licences.

Advised Raven Property Group Limited on a conditional agreement for the acquisition of a completed and fully let warehouse of 64,375sqm in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, together with 21.5ha of adjacent land, from a fund managed by Amstar. Consideration for the acquisition is Roubles 2.8 bn (circa USD 41,5 m). The matter had significant importance for the Russian real estate market as Raven Property Group Limited is one of the few western funds continuing to consistently develop its business operations in Russia.

Provided comprehensive support for Mars Inc. projects in Russia, including the construction of nine plants in four Russian regions, major acquisitions (for example, Royal Canin, Wrigley and Korkunov), permission documentation, land use, land re-categorisation and permitted use issues, environmental aspects, representation in state arbitration courts, engineering infrastructure, and public tenders.

Advised South/ TurkStream on construction of the Russian Sector of the South/TurkStream Offshore Pipeline project from Russia to Turkey: land acquisition, spatial planning, environmental, corporate, financing arrangements, constructions, permitting and regulatory, liaisons with government authorities, authorisations and licenses, etc.

Advised Globus, a German hypermarket chain, on its expansion on the Russian market, specifically on acquiring a land plot and properties in north-east Moscow for a new hypermarket.

Comprehensive legal support on the USD 1 bn reconstruction of Sheremetyevo International Airport: construction of two passenger and one cargo terminals, demolition of an old terminal and construction of a unique tunnel under the runway to connect the passenger terminals. We are also advised on supply of passenger and luggage transport equipment and relocation of the existing utilities and infrastructure, and are provided support for construction of a new fueling facility. Our mandate also included consolidation of the airport’s asset consolidation, project finance and preparation of the airport for privatisation, corporate, finance and tax matters, etc.