The Legal 500

CMS handles real estate financing, investments, construction and development, as well as litigation, and is mainly active in the office, retail and tourism sectors. Recent instructions include advising EBRD and the IFC on the divestiture of a Croatian hotel portfolio; UniCredit Bank on leasing agreements at a shopping mall; and Bauhaus on property acquisitions and the construction of another mall in Zagreb. Managing partner Gregor Famira heads the team.

Divjak, Topic & Bahtijarevic’s team is ‘excellent’, ‘well organised and knowledgeable’, and provides ‘top-notch professional support’. It is able to advise on all aspects of real estate and construction law. The firm is advising Globe Trade Centre on the 140ha development of a €100m golf course and hotel resort, and assisting 360 Vox with the development of a luxury Adriatic resort. It also recently advised W.P. Carey on property portfolio sale-and-leaseback transactions. Practice head Emir Bahtijarević is recommended along with senior associate Petar Živković, who is ‘responsive, has good business acumen and is very diligent in responding to questions in a thoughtful and focused manner’.

Mamic Peric Reberski Rimac is ‘excellent in all respects – quick response time, good value and has a very good understanding of business’. The firm’s comprehensive practice has substantial experience in construction and development, as well as financing and investment. It continues to act on the development of shopping malls and mixed-use projects in Istria and Zagreb. It is advising IKEA on construction of a new retail outlet, acting for Calcit on a new factory, and advising City of Slavonski Brod on the PPP development of a new swimming pool complex. Practice head Jurica Reberski is ‘a real estate law expert’. Luka Rimać is recommended for financing, as is Vladimir Mamić for business negotiations.

Porobija & Porobija’s ‘hardworking, experienced and deep team’ advises developers, construction contractors, corporate occupiers, lessors and investors, particularly in the retail sector, with office and hotel mandates also being significant. Matters handled include sale and purchase transactions, lessor representation, and litigation. The firm is advising a client on planning and land development for a new office tower in Zagreb, and advising Shopping City Zagreb on the design and construction of West Gate mall. Other clients include a major international clothing retailer and foreign investors into the hotels and tourism sector. Practice head Sanja Porobija is a leading real estate lawyer.

Savoric & Partners’ real estate and construction practice spans leisure, tourism and retail, and the team recently advised Bouygues and Aeroports de Paris on their winning consortium bid to construct and operate a new terminal at Zagreb International Airport under PPP project terms. The firm also advises IKEA on real estate matters, acts for property developer HB Reavis, and represents several funds on their investments in hotel construction and renovation projects. Managing partner Boris Šavorić is highly rated and is noted for his expertise in property acquisition financing. Helena Sjauš also has significant transactional experience.

Babic & Partners Law Firm’s experience includes real estate financing, hotel developments and leasing arrangements for a major retailer. Marija Gregorić is ‘extremely responsive and gives sound advice’, and senior partner Boris Babić is also a talented contributor to the practice.

Bogdanovic, Dolicki & Partners is able to advise on real estate financing and property aspects of corporate deals. Mirko Bogdanovic and Tin Dolicki are recommended. The firm has a formal association with Hogan Lovells International LLP.

Law Firm Glinska & Miskovic Ltd has comprehensive expertise across the real estate sector. Recent instructions include advising Kaufmann Group on a joint venture to develop a mall in Zagreb; hotel groups and developers on restructuring or new projects; and manufacturers and retailers on their real estate needs. Practice head Beata Glinska is recommended.

Law Office Krehic has won several 
sizeable instructions. For example, it is advising 
EETEK Holding Energia-Hatekonysagi Zrt on construction issues as part of a wider brief to advise on the client’s Croatian biomass energy business; and representing Immofinanz AG as lessor of a class-A office building in Zagreb. Tarja Krehić is recommended, but Natalija Lacmanović recently left the firm.

Law Offices Macesic & Partners mainly advises banks on real estate financing, property purchases, and real estate debt, construction or property litigation. Clients include Erste Bank and Raiffeisenbank Austria. Anita Krizmanić and Ana Padjen lead the team.

‘Top quality in all respects’, Madirazza & Partners handles project lifecycle management for developers and construction companies, from financing and construction through to sale or leasing. It is advising a bank on its real estate portfolio and assisting another client with the sale of a trophy building in Zagreb. The ‘extremely thorough’ Josip Madirazza has ‘the expertise and contacts to navigate what can be a very bureaucratic landscape’.

Schoenherr Rechtsanwälte GmbH in co-operation with Croatian Lawyers advises investors and lessors such as UNIQA Real Estate, and retail sector clients including Lidl, for which it continues to act on land acquisitions to build new supermarkets. Additionally the firm has substantial expertise in advising on real estate issues pertaining to fuel industry infrastructure, and also acts for large construction companies. Jana Cvirn Adamčić heads the practice, and Matthias Wahl is ‘an excellent team leader and transactional lawyer’.

Wolf Theiss – Zagreb branch is ‘very responsive and available’, and provides ‘clear and business-oriented legal advice’. The team is advising Leonhard Moll Betonwerke on a complex proposal to lease a railway sleeper factory from bankrupt Croatian entities, and continues to advise investor Bruno Gantenbrink on the purchase of forest following a similar transaction previously. The team advised Movieplex Kina on several lease agreements for multiplex cinemas. Construction financing and advice to investors are also areas where the group has experience. Slaven Šego heads the team. Saša Jovičić and Ronald Given are recommended for corporate real estate, and associate Silvije Cvjetko has ‘very in-depth knowledge’ and ‘presents complex issues in a simple and understandable way’. Former team leader Danijel Pribanić joined Karanovic & Nikolic.

Zuric i Partneri’s developer-focused practice has been advising on a resort on Hvar Island, as well as a golf course in central Croatia. Other experience includes office and residential property work.

Hanzekovic & Partners advises on financing, sales and purchases, leasing, construction and real estate management, and is able to assist with environmental and permitting issues. Kruno Knežević is a key figure.

Ivekovic Law Offices has a keen focus on real estate and construction, particularly in representing developers and investors on industrial and retail acquisitions, leasing and developments. Managing partner Branimir Iveković is recommended.

Juric & Vrbanovic LLP advises foreign investors on real estate acquisitions and developments.

With the construction market being slow, most of Kunstek, Halle & Simac’s recent work has mainly involved advising investors seeking to buy high-end properties, and acting for clients seeking to sell, such as the disposal of one ongoing tourist resort project. Gordon Kunstek shows ‘poise, self-confidence and genuine teamwork skills’.

Stella Šimunović and Maja Batur at Law Firm Simunovic & Batur advise on real estate matters pertaining to tourist resort projects, purchases and divestments in the utilities sector, and land acquisitions.