Real estate market in Russia, especially in the sphere of commercial property, is characterized by a large dependence on the existing macroeconomic and geopolitical context. The economic constraints and political contradictions which were revealed several years ago, are still preserved today. The external factors and the situation both in the European Union and in Russia do impact the stability of financial markets, which has immediate repercussions in the real estate market. Still, amidst the price drops in Russian housing and commercial real property (on conversion to foreign exchange), developers are still demonstrating a small increase in construction volumes.
The real estate market shall be seen not only as construction of new facilities but also as the turnover of the already existing ones. There is high activity in the market: owners, lessees, managing companies of existing real estate facilities are constantly changing, which necessitates careful legal analysis of current transactions and the history behind the turnover.
At the same time, the market level of management and maintenance of existing facilities remains low. It is only the Moscow region and other large cities where it has been actively developed due to high speeds of construction. However, today it is impossible to imagine that a facility may be successfully launched on the market without a high level of maintenance service, which requires professional skills and expertise.
Support for Real Estate Transactions:
- Due diligence check on real-estate items;
- Support for investment projects in construction of residential and commercial real-estate, including elaboration of contractual structures, drafts of investment agreements, business partnerships initiatives agreements, subcontractors agreements and other agreements;
- Integrated support for purchase of residential and/or commercial real estate in Russia, UK, European Union, Bulgaria, USA, and African states;
- Preparation of building contractual documentation, contract support and legal consultations for construction projects based on model construction contracts of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC);
- Support for rental business, preparation of rent agreements for all parties of lease relations.
Corporate Consulting, Support for Transactions and Investment Projects:
- Support for transactions of sale/acquisition of shares in development and construction companies or undertaken in order to bring in financial investors (M&A);
- Search for effective ownership and management target structures and operational structures for company groups active in this sphere, in order to reduce risks and increase assets protection;
- Preparation of documents regulating corporate management in the company/group of companies (corporate ethics codes, regulations on management bodies, regulations on committees of the board of directors, etc.).
Support during Disputes Involving Real Estate:
- Representation of client’s interests in Russian courts on all legal issues relating to real estate, and specifically on disputes relating to privatization, land rights, construction, sale or lease of real estate, and etc.;
- Pre-trial conflict settlement procedures, mediation.
Tax Consulting and Support during Tax Disputes:
- Contestation of claims by tax authorities in both pre-trial and/or judicial process, with respect to both general and industry-specific issues;
- Support during tax inspections, analysis of tax risks, extent of benefits being applied and risks associated with transfer pricing.
Senior Associate
