The Legal 500

Within Banking and finance, Garrigues is a second tier firm,

Garrigues has been advising Abengoa on the financing of investments and on debt refinancing. It is also advising KBL on regulatory matters, such as MiFID compliance requirements, anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing regulations, as well as ongoing reporting to the Bank of Spain. BBVA and Santander are other key clients. Rafael González-Gallarza and Luis de la Peña are the key names.

Within Capital markets, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues recently advised key client BBVA on the issuance of subordinated bonds and subsequent public offering to repurchase shares. Other highlights included advising Banco Financiero y de Ahorros (BFA) on registering a domestic notes issuance programme worth up to €30bn, and acting for the FADE fund to incorporate an asset securitisation programme guaranteed by the state. It advised Codere on a cross-border, high-yield senior notes deal. Managing partner Fernando Vives, corporate head Javier Ybañez, José Luis Palao, Gonzalo García-Fuertes, and Jaime Bragado are recommended.

Within Corporate and M&A, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues ‘outperforms much of the competition’. Highlights included advising Santander on a reinsurance agreement with Abbey Life Assurance in Spain and Portugal that generated €337m for the client. It also assisted BBVA with its purchase of 100% of Unnim Banc’s share capital, and advised Grupo Televisa, a 41% shareholder in La Sexta, on the merger between La Sexta and Antena 3. Managing partner Fernando Vives and practice head Javier Ybañez are the key contacts. Álvaro López-Jorrín has ‘the hands-on approach needed to guarantee the success of a transaction’.

Within Dispute resolution, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Carlos de los Santos heads the group at Garrigues, where the ‘level of service is outstanding’, and which handles civil and commercial litigation, and domestic and international arbitration. Fernando Pantaleón is ‘an outstanding civil and litigation lawyer’ with ‘deep knowledge of civil law’. Jaime Iglesias is ‘brilliant, and a hard worker who is very involved in clients’ issues’. Clients include the Ministry of Works and Transport of Namibia, which the team represented in opposition to ex parte measures granted in favour of Ineco after its contract to upgrade two Namibian airports was terminated.

Within EU and competition, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues’ ‘top-notch’ team has the ability to ‘understand the client’s market in a very short space of time’. It is representing Cisco and Messagenet in CNC proceedings seeking annulment of the EC’s decision to authorise Microsoft’s $8.6bn acquisition of Skype, and advising the Bank of Spain and the FROB on state aid aspects of the €100bn restructuring of the Spanish financial services sector. Luis Ortiz Blanco splits his time between Madrid and Brussels, and is ‘definitely one of the top competition lawyers’; ‘the trust he enjoys from officials is simply exceptional’. Marcos Araujo and Lluis Cases are also recommended.

Within Employment, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues is ‘an outstanding firm’ with ‘excellent individuals’, including recently appointed practice head Rosa Zarza, who is ‘a real expert’ and ‘exceptionally customer-oriented’, and Adriano Gómez, who has ‘great technical knowledge’ and ‘gets deeply involved’. Gregorio Nevado and Vicente Calle are also key members of the team. The 30-partner group acts for employers, employees, trade unions, and employer’s organisations, with key clients including Carrefour, Iberia, Gas Natural, Indra, Microsoft, Sanofi Aventis, and Nissan.

Within Environment, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues’ ‘excellent service, competence and technical expertise’ makes it ‘very good value for money’. It recently advised Red Eléctrica on the implications of a joint project between member states and other countries to promote the use of renewable energy. It is advising Banesto and other lenders to the Castor Project, an underground natural gas facility, and other recent mandates include preparing draft law on climate change for the Junta of Andalucia. Santiago Garrido provides ‘tailor-made solutions and satisfactory results’.

Within Insurance, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues’ five-partner team advised Banco Santander on its agreement with Abbey Life Assurance (a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank), in which the latter will reinsure the individual life risk portfolio of the former’s Iberian insurance companies. It also advised Groupama on the sale and purchase of the entire share capital of an insurance company, and advised Aegon on a joint venture with Liberbank Group to distribute life insurance and pension plan products via the latter’s network. Managing partner Fernando Vives and Alvaro López-Jorrín are prominent figures in the market.

Within Intellectual property, Garrigues is a second tier firm,

Garrigues’ team, led by João Miranda de Sousa, is ‘very skilful and helpful’. Key clients include Spanish brewery Hijos de Rivera, which has a portfolio of over 250 trade marks, and which the firm advises on all of its IP matters. The team also represented Catalan food company Casa Tarradellas in a trade mark case before the General Court of Luxembourg.

Within Projects and energy, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues ‘always brings sharp, efficient and creative solutions to the table’, and has a ‘good and long track record’ as ‘one of the best firms for project finance’. Highlights included advising a group of banks on the financing of a project to build the world’s first hybridised thermoelectric/biomass plant in Spain. It also advised Enagás on the segregation of its regulated activities in Spain, resulting in the creation of two subsidiary companies. José Miguel Pinillos has ‘extensive knowledge of all kinds of financing structures’, and is ‘always committed to getting the very best deal for his client’. Corporate head Javier Ybañez is also recommended.

Within Real estate, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues is ‘traditionally a very strong player in this field’. It recently advised the FCC on the €60m sale-and-leaseback of its headquarters in Madrid and Barcelona, and also advised it on the sale of the Torre Picasso office building in Madrid to Pontegadea Inmobiliari. Other highlights included advising LSGIE on its €58m acquisition of Plaza de la Moraleja shopping mall. Felipe Yannone is recommended.

Within Restructuring and insolvency, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues ‘clearly belongs in the top tier’ . It continues to advise Mediapro on its insolvency, and on the debt refinancing of its parent company, Imagina. The team recently began advising various lenders with aggregated claims of €160m following the voluntary insolvency of a highway concessionaire. The team also acted for construction company Puertas Norma during its insolvency proceedings and is now negotiating its reorganisation plan. It is also advising Spanish confectioner Fiesta on its voluntary insolvency. Antonio Fernandez heads the team, which also includes Borja García-Alamán and Adrián Thery.

Within TMT, Garrigues is a third tier firm,

Garrigues is ‘well worth the fee’, owing to its ‘knowledgeable and strong advocates’, such as IT specialist José Ramón Morales and telecoms and media expert Javier Marzo. The group advised CaixaBank on a deal with IBM to manage IT infrastructure services, and other instructions came from Vodafone and Orange.

Within Tax, Garrigues is a first tier firm,

Garrigues has ‘a boutique-style relationship with clients despite being the largest firm in Spain’, and has ‘a wide range of specialists of the highest quality’. Recent highlights include advising Banco Santander on the tax aspects of its agreement with Abbey Life Assurance Company to reinsure the former’s life insurance portfolio. The firm also advised Obinesa and the 46 companies in its group on restructuring its debts, which involved direct and indirect tax advice. Practice head Eduardo Abad is highly recommended.

Within Transport, Garrigues is a third tier firm,

Garrigues recently acted for Naviera Armas to negotiate contracts with shipbuilders and financial institutions to build two vessels worth €220m. The team also acted for shipowner Armas Cruceros following the grounding of a vessel on the Moroccan coast; the firm assisted with negotiations with the insurer, and with claims from passengers. Manuel Betancor and Manuel Torres are recommended.