We have a dedicated Real Estate, Construction & Infrastructure practice. In response to current market challenges our practise has developed a number of new business models and solutions. These include joint ventures between private and public investors as well as blending typical commercial real estate with urban infrastructure projects.
Real Estate
Our advice covers all stages of the real estate transaction cycle.
Acquisition and structuring. Our advice extends to: legal due diligence in respect of all forms of real estate projects, including operating projects, projects under development, green-field and brown-field investments. We advise on structuring real estate projects including tax aspects, as well as putting in place the contractual structure for any project with agents, architects and designers such as sale and purchase agreements, lease contracts and pre-letting contracts).
Development. Our advice covers zoning, environmental, and permitting issues, as well as construction and project management contracts and development financing.
Operation and transfer. We cover the legal aspects of issues such as facility and property management contracts, restructuring including step-up, leasing and disposals including tax structuring.
Construction
Our team has the biggest non-contentious construction practice in Poland including lawyers specialising in construction law (as opposed to other firms that mix their real estate and construction practices). We advise investors, developers, contractors, financial institutions, and professional consultants involved in the development process. We have a wide range of expertise in relation to the development of retail, office, warehouse, residential, mixed-use, energy, and industrial projects, as well as a long record of experience in contracts based on forms such as FIDIC and AiA. We also offer unique expertise in negotiating contracts with international marquee architects and engineers.
Recently our "construction team advised Gas Transmission Operator GAZ-SYSTEM and Polskie LNG on a EPC contract, public procurement and EPC issues relating to an LNG terminal and acted for PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna on the performance of a turnkey contract for the construction of an 858MW power unit, the largest construction contract implemented in Poland" (Legal 500 2011).
Infrastructure / PPP
The Warsaw office has a specialist group of lawyers who deal with infrastructure and PPP projects.
Our clients include: local governments, municipal water and wastewater companies, waste-to-energy companies and other utilities, transport infrastructure operators, global and European financial institutions (EBRD, EIB), as well as infrastructure funds.
Members of our Infrastructure / PPP Group are authors of the Commentary to the Law on Public-Private Partnership in Poland, published by C.H. Beck in 2010, and Commentary to the Act on the Public Works Concession and Services Concession, published by C.H. Beck in 2011.
In 2010 we cooperated with the Institute for Public-Private Partnership on preparing the "Report on the investment needs and capabilities of local government entities in the context of co-operation with the private sector". This research related to Polish towns and cities which will play a key role in preparing Polish infrastructure for UEFA EURO 2012 and comprised an analysis of: the finances of the local government entities being surveyed, the projects for which those entities have long-term investment plans, and events hindering or preventing those entities from implementing projects with private partners.
In 2011 we were appointed by the European PPP Expertise Centre (EPEC) to prepare a report on national obstacles to combining EU funds with public and private financing in PPP projects. EPEC is a collaborative initiative of the European Investment Bank, the European Commission and the Member States, and it is designed to strengthen the capacity of its public sector membership to engage in the preparation of PPP projects. Poland was the first EU member state in respect of which this evaluation was undertaken.
