The Legal 500

Clifford Chance’s 16-lawyer real estate practice is co-headed by Alfonso Benavides and Carlos Portocarrero, who is ‘an excellent lawyer’. Advice spans property transactions including commercial leasing, as well as joint ventures, financing and insolvency. Recent highlights include advising Santander Banif Real Estate on the sale of its €3bn real estate portfolio; Invest Cos on the sale of Marineda City, Spain’s largest retail centre; and RREEF on Hines’ acquisition of a building in Madrid. It advised banks led by Banesto on the financing of the acquisition of Hotel Hesperia in Madrid. Other clients include Moor Park Capital Partners and BBVA.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has ‘an excellent and experienced real estate team’, and its ‘lawyers are always available’. The group advised Cerberus European Investments on acquiring a €350m property portfolio of non-performing loans (NPLs) from Banco Santander. Restructuring remains a busy area: the team recently advised on real estate aspects of the €6bn debt restructuring of Metrovacesa. It also advised Orenol, operator of Marriott Mallorca Golf & Spa Hotel, on renegotiating its management agreement with Marriott. Practice head Juan Gómez-Acebo has ‘perfect technical and customer service skills’.

Garrigues’ team is ‘very proactive and has a deep expertise in the real estate market’. The team’s large size is a key factor: it ‘makes them capable of rendering the service within the agreed deadlines’. Recent mandates include advising Lazora on purchasing municipally subsidised residential developments in Madrid, and advising Apiv as buyer on the sale and leaseback of 28 service stations owned by Eroski Group. Felipe Yannone heads the department, and is recommended along with Héctor Muñoz, whose ‘ability is extraordinary’, and Lorenzo Clemente, who has ‘enough experience to focus the negotiations on relevant issues and to find solutions for each specific problem’.

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo Abogados’ team includes Ivan Azinovic, who has recently advised on numerous sale-and-leaseback transactions, and planning expert Luis Jiménez-Díaz. Recent instructions include advising Standard Life Investments regarding a forward funding agreement with Citygrove to develop a 250-room hotel in Barcelona that was rented to Travelodge. It advised Makro on buying a plot of land in Seville to develop a new wholesaler centre. ICA Mexico is a new client.

Uría Menéndez’s ‘impressive’ team is ‘definitely top end in this area’. It advised a syndicate of banks on the second refinancing of the €650m Valdebebas development in Madrid, and on refinancing Grupo Empresarial Pinar’s €770m bank debt. Clients recommend Ignacio Albiñana and Fernando Azofra, respectively the practice heads in Barcelona and Madrid, as well as ‘excellent lawyer’ Diego Armero. Juan Antonio Pérez Rivarés is ‘accurate, pragmatic’ and ‘thinks commercially’. Valencia-based Yasser-Harbi Mustafá is commended for his ‘good expertise in planning matters’.

Gerard Hernández is the key contact at Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira, which recently advised H&M on its Spanish stores and regularly advises ING Real Estate. It advised Metrovacesa on dividing up the Torre de Madrid and drafting corresponding condominium by-laws. The team is also adept at real estate finance, and advised Yudaya on financing the €63m extension of a shopping centre in Gran Canaria.

Linklaters’ Rafael Molina has an excellent reputation. The team advised four of the final bidders for RBS’ real estate portfolio, and acted on a number of distressed debt and equity transactions. It advised Mount Kellet on the proposed acquisition of real estate debt assets owned by a savings bank that was being restructured. Other clients include British Land, Oaktree and Cerberus. Jesús Varela moved to Salan in October 2011.

Perez-Llorca recently advised a syndicate of banks led by Banesto in restructuring part of Espais’ debt, which involved the sale of a real estate asset. Other clients include Gas Natural and Quabit Inmobiliaria. On the planning side, clients include Santander Port Authority and Banco Pastor. Luis Zurera and Barcelona-based Gerard Serra are the team’s key figures.

Ashurst LLP’s Cristina Calvo Ortega has an excellent reputation in the real estate market. The firm recently advised HBOS and Lloyds Banking Group on restructuring two loan agreements granted to Metrovacesa, and gave planning advice to GE Real Estate.

DLA Piper’s team, headed by Orson Alcocer, is ‘a very capable group’. Clients include Nextera Energy and GE Real Estate.

‘The overall level of service is great’ at Baker & McKenzie, which recently advised Motorola on Spanish real estate aspects of the sale of its wireless networking business to Nokia Siemens. Clients recommend Jesús Conde and Xavier Junquera, who are the Madrid and Barcelona team heads respectively.

Isidro del Moral heads Broseta Abogados’ multidisciplinary team, which recently advised Grupo Zriser on the acquisition of a building in Valencia, and regularly advises private companies on real estate investments.

Hogan Lovells International LLP’s work is ‘high quality’, and its ‘junior team is technically very strong’. It advised Orion Capital Managers on the acquisition of a 50% stake in the Puerto Venecia shopping centre project in Zaragoza. Emilio Gómez is the partner in charge.

Lupicino Abogados International Attorneys advised IVG Institutional Funds on a sale-and-purchase contract for a €33m building. Ángel Lavín is the key contact.

SJ Berwin advised Urbasevi on restructuring its €350m debt, and Mazabi Gestión de Patrimonios on acquiring a mixed-use development in Berlin from the Jachimowicz Group. Enrique Isla heads the department.

Ventura Garcés & López-Ibor, Abogados recently advised Inversiones San Mauricio on refinancing and construction of a business park in Mallorca. Madrid managing partner Alfonso López-Ibor and Barcelona partner Richard Gené ae recommended.