Reff & Associates provided legal assistance to Forum Serdika in the sale of the industrial park Equest Logistic to CTP

Reff & Associates, the law firm representing Deloitte Legal global network in Romania, provided legal assistance to the Dutch financial holding Forum Serdika, owned by the British investment fund East Balkan Properties plc, in the sale of its industrial park Equest Logistic to CTP, the real estate developer and long-term manager of industrial and logistics parks in Romania and Central and Eastern Europe. The transaction was signed in March 2020 for a value of approximately EUR 30 million.

Equest Logistic Park is a class A project located near Bucharest, on A1 highway, and consists of two plots of land with an area of 11 ha and three fully occupied logistics buildings, with tenants such as Garrett, the Elmec Group, Hilti, BDG Group, Telekom etc.

The project team was coordinated by Irina Dimitriu, Partner and head of the real estate practice of Reff & Associates, and included Larisa Popoviciu, Managing Associate, Diana Stan, Senior Associate, and Alexandru Butusina, Associate.

“Irina Dimitriu and Larisa Popoviciu are an incredible team and their effective understanding of the legal matters was critical in our successful completion of this transaction. They were instrumental in resolving various issues arising in price negotiations, during the performance of the due diligence, as well as in preparing all project related documentation, and consistently provided excellent legal advice that blended risk and commercial considerations in the context of local market practice. The expertise within the Reff & Associates platform was also invaluable, as they quickly and effectively defined and dispatched several issues which arose during the transaction. Despite the rapidly changing market conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the team administered the closing mechanics and related documentation without any disruption of service or communication,” stated Michael Uhler, Managing Director of East Balkan Properties plc, owner of Forum Serdika.

For over a decade, Reff & Associates has been recognized as a leading law firm in real estate in Romania, having been involved, either sell-side or buy-side, in the majority of the largest real estate deals in the country, both in office and retail spaces transactions. The latest edition of Legal 500 EMEA once again acknowledges Reff & Associates as a Tier 1 practice for real estate and construction, citing clients feedbacks which appreciate the firm’s real estate lawyers as “excellent professionals”, “flexible, equitable and innovative in identifying solutions”. The law firm’s real estate practice is also recognized by the international Chambers & Partners rankings.