BOYANOV & Co. Advises the Parties in the Second Largest Transaction on the Bulgarian Office Properties Market in the Last 10 Years
BOYANOV & Co. advised the leading Greek real estate company NBG Pangaea REIC on the acquisition of I&B Real Estate AD in a transaction with a value of close to EUR 79 million. On the express mutual agreement of the parties, throughout the process, two dedicated teams of the firm provided legal support and assistance to both the sellers and the buyer. The transaction was successfully completed on 28 December 2018.
The company I&B Real Estate AD is the owner of City Tower (Telus Tower), a full-let office building in Sofia, Bulgaria with a total area of about 54,000 sq.m. The newly built…
Mandatory Licensing for all Construction and Designing Companies in Serbia
Milan Dakic, Real estate and Construction Partner of BDK Advokati, introduces the latest amendments of the Planning and Construction Act in relation to the licenses required for various types of design or construction works:
The latest amendments of the Planning and Construction Act,[1] effective as of 6 November 2018, introduce the requirement for all construction and designing companies (including solo entrepreneurships) to obtain licenses for various types of design/construction works until 6 November 2019.
The licensing requirement that now applies across the board previously applied to…
BOYANOV & Co. is Advising on the Biggest Deal in Bulgaria
BOYANOV & Co. currently works on the biggest deal in Bulgaria – the concession award procedure for Sofia Airport.
Sale of Mercator's Shopping Centers in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
SEE Legal's Slovenian member Selih & Partners has been advising Mercator on its sale of ten shopping centres in Slovenia to Supernova. On October 12, 2018, Mercator and Supernova signed a contract for the sale, which provided Mercator with a rental agreement for a period of 15 years, with the possibility of extending the agreement for another 15 years under the same conditions.
The Mercator Group is one of the largest corporate groups in Slovenia, as well as in the entire region of South-eastern Europe. Its primary and most important is the retail of fast-moving consumer goods, complemented…
Terme Catez Hotels on Sale
Terme Čatež d.d. is selling the Mokrice Golf & Hotel Resort. They are also expected to sell hotels Žusterna and Koper on the Slovenian coast.
Possible Hotels for Sale in Bulgaria
Over the next three years, new luxury hotels from three world known chains - Intercontinental, Hyatt and Marriott - will open in Sofia.
There is also a possibility for a deal for Hotel Marinella (former Kempinski), given the recent events around the owner, who is currently being investigated for tax crimes and money laundering. He has a number of other hotels that can also be subject for sale.
Amendments in the Field of Construction and Infrastructure Projects
Razvan Vlad introduces the amendments in the field of construction and infrastructure projects in Romania:
The beginning of 2018 has brought certain amendments in the field of construction and infrastructure projects in Romania, by means of a new enactment that strongly impacted the professional life of contractors, who were used to the FIDIC provisions up to that point. Government Decision no. 1/10.01.2018 ( “GD no. 1/2018”), which approved the general and special conditions for certain categories of public/sectorial procurement contracts related to publicly funded investment objectives…
Six Hotels on the Slovenian Coast for Sale
In the process of preventive restructuring, Istrabenz Group agreed to sell its assets by the end of 2019.
The assets of the Istrabenz Group include Istrabenz Turizem and a 50% share in Adriafin, a co-owner of Vina Koper. More than 80% of claims against Instrabenz Group are held by the Bank Assets Management Company.
Istrabenz has recently began selling its subsidiary Istrabenz Turizem, owner of six Lifeclass hotels on the Slovenian Coast. The six hotels, namely Grand, Apollo, Neptun, Mirna, Slovenija and Riviera, situated in Portorož, have a total of 778 rooms and are valued at EUR 70 - 80 million.
US…
Serbian Planning and Construction Act Further Revised to Promote Investments into Real Estate Development
The validity of local conditions, one of the initial and most important documents in the permitting process showing what investor can build on certain piece of land, is to be extended from one to two years. The deadline to commence work under construction permit is also to be extended from two to three years from the issuance of the permit, to allow more time for investors to raise funds.
Although the proposed amendments are welcome, there is room for further improvement. Milan Dakic, partner at BDK Advokati, discussed the remaining pitfalls of the Planning and Construction Act in the June edition…
Halkali - Kapikule Railway Line Project
This railway project will connect North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Thus, Turkey’s long lasted reputation of being a junction between East and West in the transport sector is planned to be strengthen with this project. It aims not only to connect but also to reduce carbon emissions and make electrically-driven railways. The tender process for the consultancy for the project has started. The construction works are be tendered by the end of 2018.
A New Period in Tourism Investments: Room Sales to Third Parties
Within the last year, it has become possible for tourism investors to get an extension of up to 49 years for the term of usage rights granted on public real properties; and to acquire the real properties on which an easement right is established or has been allocated in favor of the tourism investors or the operators.
On 30 June 2018, another long-awaited amendment was made to the Regulation on Certification and Qualifications of Tourism Facilities, legalizing the sales of hotel rooms in the tourism facilities to third parties.
Busra Ozden, Associate at SEE Legal’s Turkish member, Kolcuoglu…
Article on Participation of Private Investors in Development of Infrastructure in Serbia
Partner of BDK Advokati Milan Dakic wrote an interesting piece on the statutory possibilities for private investors to actively participate in the development of public infrastructure such as roads, electricity or sewerage networks outside of PPP and public procurement frameworks. Such public-private cooperation can be regulated by an agreement between an investor and a local municipality. Read full article here.
