The Legal 500 > Latin America > Mexico > Real estate

Creel, García-Cuéllar, Aiza y Enríquez, S.C. has a truly outstanding real estate practice, composed of 23 first-class experts in the Mexican legal and regulatory aspects of direct or structured investments in (or strategic acquisitions of) property in the industrial, retail, commercial, hospitality, residential and urban sectors. It remains the go-to firm for many multinational and domestic developers, promoters, tourism and leisure companies and investors; including international real estate funds, Mexican CKDs, CERPIs and FIBRAs. In recent highlight work, the firm advised Equinix on the $175m acquisition of three data centres operated by Axtel and located in Queretaro. This pioneering transaction (the first of its kind carried out domestically) was led by Monterrey-based Francisco Montalvo, who co-heads the area together with Mexico City-based partner Carlos de Icaza, who has a renowned real estate practice strengthened by considerable expertise in environmental law. Working alongside him in Mexico City, partner Carlos del Río, regularly advises a wide range of clients on acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and divestitures in Mexico across multiple industries and sectors. Last but not least, partner Badir Treviño-Mohamed is another prominent name in the team; he operates from the Monterrey office and brings knowledge not only in real estate, but also in sophisticated corporate and M&A.

The ‘very professional’ 16-strong team at Mijares, Angoitia, Cortés y Fuentes S.C., is lauded for its ‘fast reaction and excellent results’. The multidisciplinary group of lawyers and accountants have ‘solid technical knowledge’ and handle primarily the regulatory, M&A, and environmental aspects of real estate. Notably, the practice houses two specialist sub-groups, one focused on tax and the structuring of real estate deals, the other handling the contracting of rights of way, rights of use and similar structures necessary for infrastructure projects such as roads, gas ducts, energy plants and wind farms. Stand-out partner Lorenza Langarica, who regularly counsels on local and cross-border procurement and joint ventures, co-leads the practice with ‘problem solver’ Eugenio Macouzet, who focuses on the legal and regulatory aspects of real estate investments in the commercial, residential, hospitality and industrial segments. Other key practitioners include partner Manuel Echave, often sought out by developers and promoters to manage financings for the purchase or construction of real estate projects; founding partner Pablo Mijares; Ignacio Armida, who has represented clients in the development and financing of real estate projects across Mexico; and very active senior associate Carlos Jiménez.

Recognized market heavyweight, Nader, Hayaux y Goebel, SC, remains one of the strongest firms in the real estate arena. The large team of 22, which offers ‘promptness, knowledge and pro-business solutions without neglecting strict legal compliance’, covers a wide range real estate matters, including financing, and has vast experience in real estate fund formation, having previously developed work on REITs and CKDs. It also has particular expertise in the tourism and leisure industry. The department comprises nine partners with a solid background in finance, M&A and capital markets. Key practitioners include: experienced player and practice head Michell Nader, who has enormous expertise in real estate finance; Vanessa Franyutti, who stands out for her market-leading expertise in the hospitality segment, as well as focusing on financial aspects across the retail, residential and industrial markets; Eduardo Villanueva, notably strong in acquisitions and fund formation; and Alejandro Rojas, praised by clients for always giving ‘a solution or good advice’. Fellow partners Javier Arreola, Hans Goebel and Adrián López focus on real estate finance, investment and joint ventures while Gunter Schwandt and Julián Garza  cover fund formation.

Ritch, Mueller, Heather y Nicolau, S.C. fields a highly reputable 21-strong real estate practice, led by seasoned market player Rodrigo Conesa, who participates in real estate financings, acquisitions and developments on behalf of both lenders and developers. Fellow partner Javier Domínguez Torrado mainly handles real estate operations and financing (involving debt and equity placements in Mexico and abroad, secured and unsecured financing, and mergers and acquisitions), while Ricardo Calderón specializes in domestic and cross border M&A and financing transactions in different sectors, representing both investors and financial institutions. Support comes from senior associates Gabriel Torres, Santiago Carrillo and Héctor Cárdenas. Headline work last year saw the firm act for FINSA and private equity fund Walton Street Capital on the $841m sale of a 74 building industrial real estate portfolio to Fibra Uno.

González Calvillo, SC has a nine-strong team of ‘excellent practitioners', who have ‘a high level of professionalism and experience’ which they put to good use when advising developers, lenders, investment banks, pension funds, real estate investment funds, domestic and foreign investors and large corporations, on real estate project development and related corporate and financing matters, acquisitions and sales, joint ventures, tax efficient structuring, management agreements, and secured construction and renovation finance. The practice also handles public and private offerings of diverse types of real estate-related securities, secured lending transactions, and leasing and real estate litigation. Alfredo Chávez Goyeneche, who represents clients from wide variety of industries in transactions and investments, co-leads the department together with Gonzalo Vargas Ateca and Jorge Cervantes, who are very active in the acquisition and sale of real estate assets. Key support comes from counsel Erika Olguín, a transactional lawyer with a strong practice in real estate, corporate law, private equity, M&As, joint ventures and strategic alliances.

For some clients, Greenberg Traurig, S.C.'s real estate practice offers the ‘best service’ in Mexico. Supported by the rest of the firm's international offices, the 11-strong team covers property acquisition and investment, development, management and leasing, financing, restructuring and sale of all real estate segments and asset classes, including commercial, recreational, and residential real estate, structured equity, structured debt and hybrid structures. Their client list includes property developers, lenders, investment managers, private equity funds, REITs, operators, joint ventures, sovereign wealth funds, international developers, and private owners. Department head Antonio Diez de Bonilla Martinez is a fully-fledged real estate specialist, active particularly in M&A, joint ventures and development transactions across various industries (including hospitality and retail); while fellow partner Gerardo Carrillo brings wide-ranging knowledge of residential, commercial, industrial, and hospitality projects. Senior associates Roberto Guerrero and Julio Sardina are other highlighted members of the ‘ethical, responsible and compliant’ team in the Mexico City office.

Santamarina y Steta's 11-strong practice knows ‘the business very well’, and is praised by some clients for providing ‘unparalleled personal attention, as well as an excellent level of expertise’. The team advises on a wide range of matters including the acquisition, leasing, development, construction and sale of real estate properties, as well related financing structures and securitisation, including the contribution of properties to FIBRAS, CKDs, and guarantee trusts. The department is led by three partners. In Mexico City, Aarón Levet has broad experience in M&A, joint ventures and financing in the hospitality and industrial real estate sectors; and Vicente Grau is active in real estate transactions as part of a broader practice that also takes in economic competition, antitrust and estate planning. In Monterrey, César Cruz is as an expert in structuring, negotiating and implementing businesses and real estate operations, including the purchase and sale of assets and national and international co-investments. Support comes from recently appointed partner, Claudia Rodríguez, who focuses  mainly on the industrial, retail and housing sectors; and senior associate Isaac Zatarain.

Four corporate partners lead the real estate practice at full-service Mexican firm Basham, Ringe y Correa, S.C., which has niche strength in sectors such as retail and hospitality. Noted practitioners include: senior partner and head of corporate Daniel Del Rio, who has deep experience of M&A transactions and a specific focus on real estate; Amilcar García specializes in retail for luxury brands as well as on industrial and health sector real estate matters; managing partner Juan José López de Silanes is particularly strong in the areas of planning and execution of national and international transactions; and Jesús Colunga is a hospitality expert. Key support comes from senior associates Gerson Vaca and Monica Mora.

The practice at CMS Woodhouse Lorente Ludlow has over 20 years' experience advising on all aspects of the structuring and financing of real estate developments in industrial, residential, hospitality, office and mixed-use projects. Moreover, the five-strong team is renowned among clients for its ‘extensive knowledge of the real estate aspects related to energy projects’. Enrique Lorente Ludlow, who represents landowners, developers and investment funds on complex lease arrangements, as well as on the sale and purchase of commercial, industrial, residential and corporate properties, co-leads the practice with César Lechuga, who has ‘outstanding  reactivity and proactivity’, and specializes in transactional real estate with a primary focus on the industrial, logistics, commercial, office space and retail sectors, as well as large plots of land for wind and solar projects.

Full-service Mexican law firm, Cuesta Campos y Asociados S.C., has been advising both domestic and foreign entities in real estate transactions for over 40 years. The team of seven lawyers, which has a mid and upper mid-market deal focus, is often the first choice for clients in key industries such as automotive, IT, manufacturing, retail or food & beverages. The team has been involved in a variety of real estate project transactions including industrial and tourism developments. Department head Berenice Soto frequently advises leading developers and transnational corporations on a range of transactional matters. Domestically, the firm has offices in Mexico City, Guadalajara and El Bajío.

The Mexican real estate practice at international full-service firm Hogan Lovells, fields a local team of 11 lawyers who provide expert legal advice regarding hospitality, industrial, commercial, hotel, leisure, retail and residential real estate projects, as well as, infrastructure and automotive development projects. The firm has been very active over the last year in the negotiation of lease and purchase agreements for developers, investors, investment funds, and other companies. The department is co-led by Mexico City-based partners Ángel Domínguez de Pedro and Juan Francisco Torres Landa, in conjunction with Guillermo González Frankenberger, in the firm's Monterrey office.

Holland & Knight has built up a robust real estate practice, with a unique expertise in placing Mexican Reits (FIBRAS) and CKDs, that has allowed it to secure important clients such as Fibra Uno, the first and largest Mexican Reit, and which has relied on the firm since its initial public offering in 2011. The five-strong team also handles cross border real estate transactions, particularly in the hospitality segment. The department is led by partner Guillermo Uribe, who focuses on real estate finance matters related to banking and securities law, international capital markets, structured finance and syndicated loans. Adrián Gay Lasa, who provides key support, especially with REIT-related work, was promoted to the partnership in January 2020. Former practice co-head Luis Moreno left the firm in August 2019.

The practice at Ibarra, del Paso y Gallego has become a strong choice thanks particularly to its capabilities in hospitality and transactional real estate, which are reinforced with the 14-strong team's expertise in environment, corporate/M&A, and energy and infrastructure. The experienced group advises on, among other issues: the development and operation of timeshare regimes, acquisition structuring, financing, development, construction, leasing and sale of real estate along with rights of way and easements and property regularization. The area is co-led by accomplished founding partners Gerardo Gallego and the always ‘available and flexible’ Carlos Ibarra. Other key practitioners include Juan Miguel Martínez-Mendieta, who handles disputes; environmental expert Adrián del Paso; Rodrigo de los Ríos and Carlos Pérez-Chow, who has particular expertise in the energy industry. Senior associates Sandra Jiménez and Alejandra Gutiérrez are also noted.

Jones Day's Mexican office fields a five-strong team of dedicated real estate lawyers who have solid experience in matters ranging from simple due diligence processes for the purchase or development of land, houses, buildings, plant, hotels and factories, to more complex operations where financing and tax expertise are needed. Their expertise also includes the analysis and development of different real estate investment vehicles under Mexican law. The practice, which is supported by the firm's global network, includes several environmental experts and is led by Mexico-office managing partner Manuel Romano, who has broad expertise advising developers, buyers, and financing parties on real estate development projects.

For some, the six-strong practice at Kuri Breña, Sánchez Ugarte y Aznar not only offers levels of attention that ‘exceed those of any other firm', but the lawyers also 'have a proven leadership in the real estate legal field’. The team covers leasing and real estate development; financing and securitisation of cash flows originating from real estate properties; joint ventures; and cross-border transactions including acquisition, divestitures, leasing and the development of industrial, hotels and commercial properties. Luis Octavio Núñez, praised by clients for his ‘excellent advice, response and courtesy’, leads the team with the firm's co-managing partner Guillermo Garay, who has profile and expertise in the sale and disposal of real estate. Support comes from finance expert Rodrigo López, and senior associate Elizabeth Tovar , who arrived in July 2019 from the former Romo Paillés.

The incorporation of Diego Gómez Haro, formerly head of legal for Mexico real estate at Blackstone Group back in July 2018, has clearly boosted Sánchez Devanny's practice, allowing the firm to strengthen its presence in Mexico City, from where he operates. Very prominent in, among other areas, syndication, restructures, portfolio acquisitions, financing, equity investments, joint venture incorporation or asset divestiture, he co-heads the department with Monterrey-based managing partner Rafael Villamar-Ramos, a reputed market player with substantial experience in industrial, commercial and housing real estate acquisition and leasing transactions. The eight-strong team also includes key practitioner Alfredo Villareal, who is appreciated for being ‘flexible to the customers' demands, receptive to feedback, and very empathetic at the time of negotiation’.

SMPS Legal considerably deepened its real estate capabilities in 2020 with the hire of virtually all of legacy firm Romo Paillés, S.C.'s real estate practice. Former managing partner María Teresa Paillés, a leading player in the real estate sector with a strong focus on transactions in the hospitality industry, has joined the firm along with fellow partner María Esther Rey and two associates. They will reinforce the team co-led by Alejandro Ortiz, who operates from the firm's Dallas office and is often sought-out by clients interested in tourist developments in Mexico; and Eduardo Pizarro, who has particular expertise in the financial and energy sectors. Recently appointed partner Andrés Pizarro, who is especially skilled at handling complex trusts, trust operations and FIBRAs, is another name to note. The practice, which is currently working on several projects related to shopping malls, regularly advises clients on all types of real estate and asset transactions, including sales and purchases, leasing, financing, development and construction, and liens on real estate assets, as well as handling audits, and regulatory, tax and environmental matters.

The August 2020 emergence of Trujillo Abogados marks the first Covid 19-detonated spin-off at a major firm in Mexico. Operating from both Monterrey and Mexico City, and offering flexible fee arrangements in the face of the pandemic, the seven-strong boutique has hit the ground running with an admirable track record established during the group's time at Galicia Abogados S.C.. Despite the firm's novelty, the team is praised for providing ‘exceptional’, ‘business-oriented’ advice on investment vehicles, joint ventures, and the acquisition, development and sale of all types of real estate asset in Mexico. Moreover, it team has vast experience in real estate portfolio financing, from structured, senior and mezzanine finance, club deals and syndication, to recourse and non-recourse loans, along with trusts, mortgages and pledge securities. The group also handles legal due diligence, condominium constitution, project managing and leases of all types. Founding partner Alejandro Trujillo, whose lengthy background as a general counsel in the sector makes him an ideal client choice since he ‘understand the needs of a company, both in terms of structures and budgets’, has profound expertise in real estate transactions and financing. Experienced support comes from associates Alejandra Boj (in Monterrey), whose background includes in-house experience at both GE Capital Real Estate and MMREIT; and Miguel López, who has particular expertise in real estate trusts; both are noted.

Cervantes Sainz, S.C.'s 'active' and diversified real estate practice advises a broad range of property developers, lenders, investment managers, opportunity funds, FIBRAS and REITs, as well as private owners, on -primarily- transactional work, leasing, developments, regulatory issues, and land use and zoning matters. Daniel Saltzberg, who actively represents real estate funds, investment trusts, developers and lenders, co-heads the practice with Luis A Cervantes Muñiz, who specializes in infrastructure and real estate matters. Other key practitioners include the very active Ximena Hernández.

Boutique firm Chávez Vargas Minutti Abogados' practice group has particular expertise in government related projects, while also advising on a wide range of real estate finance and transactional matters across the residential, commercial, office-space, hospitality, education, industrial and agricultural segments. Recent highlight work for the team included advising Investment & Properties on the $30m purchase of a property of 270 thousand square meters in Coronango, Puebla, from Alhemos Industrial. Well know market participants José Antonio Chávez and Brian Minutti co-head the ‘proactive’ five-strong team; senior associates Alejandro Carreño and Miguel Martínez are also noted.

DLA Piper Gallastegui y Lozano's 'creative' real estate practice advises on a wide range of services like financing, fund formation, acquisitions and disposals, tax, land use, environmental law, planning, development, construction and leasing. Department head Gabriela Alaña, who has particular expertise in ‘build-to-suit’ developments, is frequently called on to handle industrial, office, retail and multi-family and resorts projects; she heads the small business-oriented team from the Mexico City office which, although not large in number, works seamlessly with the firm's international network. Other key practitioners include fellow partner María Eugenia Rios, whose expertise centres on real estate development.

The July 2020 departure of practice co-head Alejandro Trujillo to establish his own boutique (taking several associates with him), was undoubtedly a blow to the department at Galicia Abogados S.C. that he helped build, but is far from being its demise. The team continues to advise on a broad range of sector issues, ranging from due diligence and risk analysis (including environmental and regulatory aspects), leasing, urbanization, property development and operation, condominiums and fractional ownership, public and private investment, and with administrative procedures and legal audits. Former co-head Ramiro Sandoval has taken on full leadership of the practice; he has extensive experience in acquisitions and divestitures, public and private market joint ventures, structuring and the formation of private equity funds and REITs, primarily with a focus on mixed use projects and in the hospitality industry. José Visoso, who has actively advised financial institutions in local and cross-border transactions as well as both sellers and purchaser in M&A deals, is another key partner. Associate support comes from Guillermo Para and Mariana Islas.

The Mexican real estate practice at White & Case S.C. fields a team of 10 lawyers who advise on matters ranging from acquisitions and investments through to the real estate aspects of major projects (notably in the retail and energy sectors), on real estate financing matters; and on the environmental law issues involved in a range of real estate transactions. Recent highlight work saw the firm advise Bancomext and Banco Sabadell on the $55m project financing of a 115.5MW solar project located in the state of Durango. The department is co-led by partner Álvaro Garza-Galván, whose practice focuses on real estate transactional and financing mandates; and counsel Pedro Morales, who has a high level of expertise in real estate regulations and environmental law.