Overview
We have extensive experience in advising on all types of development from residential buildings, office buildings, shopping centres and business parks to leisure projects and industrial sites.
We provide advice and assistance to real estate investment and management funds, developers, banks and other financial institutions, as well as to real estate consultants and professionals in all aspects of their property-related activities.
We are widely recognised as the leading firm on leasing and build-to-suit lease agreements, our team being involved, amongst others, in the largest ever single tenant office lease in Romania.
We advise on all legal issues in relation to securing complicated development sites, framing joint venture structures or with financing and construction issues. We help all developments get a kick-start by simplifying the process of pre-leasing/ pre-selling the future premises to potential tenants or end buyers.
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and its group of companies on the lease of 2,235 sq.m. office premises in America House.
- Advised Keys REIM on the sale of an uncompleted building in the historic centre of Bucharest to One United Properties.
- Advised Element Industrial on the lease of 16,000 sq.m. of warehouse premises in Eli Park 3 to FERRO Romania.
- Advised Element Group, one of the most active local developers, on the acquisition of 2,7 hectares land plot at the entrance to Pitesti.
- Advised Mr. Ionut Negoita, the former majority shareholder of the Dinamo Bucharest football team and also an important player on the real estate market, on the acquisition of a land plot totaling over 10 ha, located in the East of Bucharest.
- Advised Bog’Art Residential, the real estate investment division of Bog’Art Group, on the acquisition of 2 land plots located in the North of Bucharest, from OMV Petrom S.A. (part of OMV Group), with a view to be developed into a 130 apartment residential complex.
- Advised Bourbon Black Sea on the lease of 800 sq.m. in Pipera Business Tower, a class A office building located on 6E Dimitrie Pompeiu Boulevard.
- Advised Hagag on the acquisition of the office building located at 21 Tudor Arghezi Street in downtown Bucharest from the property fund NCH Capital.
- Advised Cordia Residence (Group Futureal) on the acquisition of 21.000 sq. m. land plot in the Grivita Lake area, part of the Bucurestii Noi region of Bucharest.
- Advised the investment arm of the largest Romanian construction company, Bog’Art, on the acquisition of a 5,500 sq.m. plot of land in the northern area of Bucharest with a view to further developing a high end residential project.
- Advised Commons, a co-working start-up with two locations in Bucharest and one in London, with negotiating the lease of three premises to be used as co-working hubs in Bucharest, totalling a surface area of over 3,300 sq.m.
- Advised Groupè Renault and Automobile Dacia on the largest ever single tenant build-to-suit office lease in Romania, over 39,000 sq. m
- Advised the largest and leading fitness group in Romania, World Class, on all leases of premises for their fitness clubs since 2008, being around 45 locations in Bucharest, Ploiesti, Pitesti, Cluj, Timisoara, Bacau, Constanta and Iasi.
- Advised UPC Romania, the local subsidiary of Liberty Global, in relation to the lease of three floors totalling an area of approximately 6,000 sq.m. within a Class A building in order to consolidate all the client’s staff from existing offices elsewhere in Bucharest in one building.
- Advised WebHelp Romania, a 35,000 people-strong global leader in business process outsourcing (BPO) and specialised in customer experience with 3 awards at the ABSL Gala 2018, in relation to the lease of an additional three floors totalling a surface area of over 1,500 sq.m. for expanding its office premises in Bucharest.
- Advised Teads, a UK-based ad-tech company that creates outstream video advertising, on the lease of their new office premises, currently under construction in the Dorobanti area of Bucharest.
- Advised British American Tobacco Romania on the lease of a 25,000 sq. m. multipurpose operating premises, including a fiscal warehouse, storage facilities, packaging facilities and office areas in Ploiesti West Park, the largest business development in South East Europe.
- Advised First Property Group PLC, an award winning property fund manager and investor with operations in the UK, Poland and Romania, in conjunction with a group of investors, on the acquisition of the MAESTRO BUSINESS CENTER Office Building located in Cluj – Napoca, Romania.
- Advised Futureal Management, one of the leading real estate developers and investors in Central Eastern Europe, in relation to the estimated EUR 3M Parcului project, centred on the acquisition of over 15,000 sq. m. located within District 1, Bucharest – one of the main residential areas in the city.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Housing – Residential
The demand for new housing continues to grow on the one hand, as the authorities continue to incentivise the market through the “First House” programme and, on the other, as the purchasing power of Romanians continues its upward trend.
In this rapidly developing environment, the challenge to deliver quality housing in as short a time as possible is urgent and very real, and requires a careful balancing of various components such as the availability of suitable land, viable planning permission, innovative finance, a construction company, the building contract, buyer, investor or tenant demand and, often, public sector intervention.
The growing needs of modern residential occupiers also brings with it a need to develop adjoining mixed-use facilities, with consequential complexities for the design of the resulting structures.
We have extensive expertise and experience in advising house builders, developers, landowners, registered providers, investors, funders and local authorities on housing and mixed-use development schemes.
Our in-depth knowledge of the industry ensures that we understand all the specific issues a developer might face in a residential project where multiple buildings are in place, such as dealing with underground common parking, interior spaces, roads and green areas or transformer stations and the organising of utility supplies generally.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Mr. Ionut Negoita, the former majority shareholder of the Dinamo Bucharest football team and also an important player on the real estate market, on the acquisition of a land plot totaling over 10 ha, located in the East of Bucharest.
- Advised Bog’Art Residential, the real estate investment division of Bog’Art Group, on the acquisition of 2 land plots located in the North of Bucharest, from OMV Petrom S.A. (part of OMV Group), with a view to be developed into a 130 apartment residential complex.
- Advised Cordia Residence (Group Futureal) on the acquisition of 21.000 sq. m. land plot in the Grivita Lake area, part of the Bucurestii Noi region of Bucharest.
Retail
Romania continues to be one of the main destinations for international retailers looking to expand into Europe. Expansion programmes are, for the most part, directed towards the shopping centre stock, with the main focus on prime schemes in the main cities.
In 2016, Bucharest exceeded 1 million square metres of shopping centre space for the first time, reaching a density of 532 square metres GLA/1,000 despite the growth in online sales. But, in an effort to keep up with online sales, high street shops and shopping centres are being increasingly challenged to build environments and stores that cater for the increasingly sophisticated requirements of retailers and shoppers alike.
We have significant experience in acting for retailers, developers and investors. Our in-depth knowledge and clear understanding of the sector allows us to deliver insightful and innovative advice with real commercial value, including advising on the different legal structures that are becoming more common in mixed-use schemes involving retail, leisure and residential areas.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Hervis Sports & Fashion S.R.L., the biggest sports retail chain in Romania, in obtaining an unprecedented decision by the Cluj Specialised Tribunal, with the grant of an injunction for the deferred payment of part of the rent relating to premises at the Vivo Shopping Center in Cluj, owned by commercial real estate group Immofinanz.
- Advised the InterCora Group, a major German real estate investor and developer, in connection with lease agreements related to a retail shopping centre.
- Advised all four vehicles of Catinvest, part of a French real estate investor specialising in the management of shopping centres and tertiary assemblies, in connection with lease agreements concluded with various tenants regarding premises within major shopping centres in Bucharest.
Logistics
Booming investments in retail and manufacturing, coupled with consistent GDP growth and the presence of numerous automotive companies, have turned the logistics market into an attractive one for freight carriers and logistics companies.
We have a logistics team of leading specialists in a variety of sectors, including real estate, transport, retail and consumer who are able to draw on their individual expertise, experience and sector knowledge to deliver both innovative and commercial solutions at every step of the way.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Element Industrial on the lease of 16,000 sq.m. of warehouse premises in Eli Park 3 to FERRO Romania.
- Advised Element Group, one of the most active local developers, on the acquisition of 2,7 hectares land plot at the entrance to Pitesti.
- Advised British American Tobacco with the lease of a multipurpose operating premises, including a fiscal warehouse, storage facilities, packing facilities and office space totalling 25,000 sq. m. in Ploiesti West Park.
Office
In 2017, the office real estate market saw record levels of demand, coupled with the continuing upward trend in activity across all the main markets. With the generally stable development of available space rental levels have remained unchanged.
We advise investors, developers, occupiers and funders alike. Our experience and expertise helps our clients to navigate through the challenges of the current market and enables them to take full advantage of the opportunities that are available to them.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Keys REIM on the sale of an uncompleted building in the historic centre of Bucharest to One United Properties.
- Advising Bourbon Black Sea on the lease of 800 sq.m. in Pipera Business Tower, a class A office building located on 6E Dimitrie Pompeiu Boulevard.
- Advising Hagag on the acquisition of the office building located at 21 Tudor Arghezi Street in downtown Bucharest from the property fund NCH Capital.
- Assisting UPC Romania, the local subsidiary of Liberty Global, in relation to the lease of three floors totalling an area of 6,000 sq.m. in a Class A building and the lease of another premises for relocating its IT support and data centre.
- Acting as Romanian Counsel, we assisted LPA in respect of its client, the French automotive group Renault and its subsidiary Automobile Dacia SA, in relation to the lease of a property development in Bucharest.
- Advising our client Complexul Multifunctional Victoria, a local subsidiary of AEW Europe, on all legal matters related to the America House building, one of the largest multifunctional business centres in Bucharest extending over 45,000 sq. m..
Hotels & Leisure
Growth in the hotel and leisure industry has been driven by the general growth in the Romanian economy and the increasing level of foreign investment. More and more international hotel chains have shown an interest in entering the market due to the evident benefits and attractiveness of the current industry in Romania.
We act for leading hotel investors, developers, financiers and operators worldwide. We have gained in-depth knowledge and insight into all the issues that are likely to be encountered in any transaction, including management agreements, hotel portfolio sale and purchases, new developments and financing.
Keys Contact
Silviu Stratulat
Managing Partner
Our Relevant Experience
- Advised Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) and its group of companies on the lease of 2,235 sq.m. office premises in America House.
- Advising World Class Romania, the leader in the Health & Fitness industry in Romania in connection to the opening of a new health and fitness club in Expo Business Park.
- Advising Niro Investment Group, a fully privately owned Romanian group of companies with over 25 years of expertise in investments, development and asset management, on the completion of a financing amounting to EUR 24 million granted by Libra Bank.
- Advising World Class Romania, the leader in the Health & Fitness industry in Romania, on the successful acquisition of Planet Swim & Gym.
