Mr Vassilis D Avramopoulos

Work Department

Commercial, Corporate and M&A, Real Estate & Construction, Projects & Privatization, Tax, EU & Competition, IT & Data Protection, Aviation, Entertainment, Yachts & Superyachts

Position

Senior Partner-Managing Partner.

Career

Vassilis Avramopoulos is the Managing Partner and also the Head of Corporate and Commercial, M&A, Real Estate and Tax practice groups of the Firm. He has more than 35 years’ experience in these areas, having worked on many important transactions in the country. He has advised on numerous projects, involving inter alia acquisitions of local corporations, partnerships, businesses and business assets by non-Greek (mainly U.S. and European) entities.

He is widely recognized as a leading practitioner in the Commercial Real Estate area. He has participated in multiple significant deals and he has represented important developers and foreign investors. Further, he is widely recognized, both in Greece and abroad, for his specialized work in the hotel and leisure sector, including shared ownership and condo hotels, membership clubs, and fractional. He also advises on issues relating to planning, construction and engineering, investment, development, property finance, real estate litigation, environment, health & safety and licensing.

In addition, Vassilis has deep knowledge and experience in the field of information technology (IT) and telecommunications and he has represented a large number of international business clients in Greece, including some of the world’s leaders in the field.

Between 2016 and 2018 he has also served as Representative of ICC Hellas to the global ICC Commission on the Digital Economy.

Vassilis has addressed speeches in numerous legal and investment conferences and has published several articles in international legal journals and magazines.

Recent Experience:

•     Acted as the legal advisor of a U.S. multinational company for entering into a Joint Venture with one of the leading constructing companies in Greece, which has been awarded the multibillion tender issued by the Greek State for the Concession of a wide-range activities Casino Operating License and the development of an Integrated Resort and Casino in the area of the old port of Athens.

•     Provision of legal advice regarding the participation in various tenders for the acquisition of hotels in touristic areas of Greece.

•     Provision of legal advice to a client regarding the tender for the privatization of the former U.S. Military base of Gournes in the island of Crete.

•     Provision of legal advice to a U.K. bank with regards to eventual risks for being qualified as having a permanent establishment in Greece as a result of pursuing merchant acquiring services and relevant activities in Greece.

•     Provision of legal advice to a project management company with regards to the acquisition of a major plot of land for the development of residential properties in Southern Athens-Attica.

•     Provision of legal advice and assistance, in relation to the sale of 100% of the shares of a Greek societe anonyme owning a significant touristic development property in Corfu, including drafting contractual documents and assisting in the negotiations.

•     Provision of legal advice and assistance in relation to the sale of a Greek company being one of the leading companies in the food market in Greece.

•     Provision of legal advice, including conducting legal due diligence, and drafting contractrual documents throughout the process of acquisition of a societe anonyme owning a hotel in Crete.

•     Legal advice to a U.S. construction company based in Greece with regards to a major development project in the area of Halkidiki, Northern Greece, involving the construction of a luxury resort.

•     Provision of legal advice and services to an Italian construction group, having undertaken the construction of the major part of the Transadriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP).

•     Provision of legal advice to an international group of companies regarding their reorganization and relevant tax implications, including advice on tax deferral schemes.

•     Provision of legal advice to a major multinational group of companies in the alcohol sector regarding intragroup and/or third parties transactions as well as payment schemes in light of the capital controls regime established in Greece, including advice on transfer pricing and tax implications.

•     Provision of legal advice and services to a U.S. construction consulting firm with strong presence in Greece in relation to its participation in tenders related to the exploitation of publicly owned real estate.

•     Provision of legal advice to a U.K. holding company planning to invest in the island of Kefallonia for the purpose of building and operating a luxury resort near Myrtos beach.

•     Provision of legal advice and services to a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industries, on all their structural, contractual development and operational legal issues in Greece.

•     Provision of legal services and advice to a U.S. private equity fund for the purchase of hotels and resorts in the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini.

•     Provision of legal services and advice to a leading Greek chain of Hotels in relation to a Management Agreement with an international hotel management company.

• Acted as the legal advisor of a European group of companies for the sale of all of its issued and outstanding shares to a US company which is a global leader in the hospitality and vacation ownership industry.

• Provision of legal services and advice to a Spanish listed company in relation to existing disputes deriving from a Contract for the Project Management, Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management of a Refinery Upgrading Project.

• Provision of legal advice and services to the contractor of the project (joint venture of five companies: four Italian and one Greek) for the design, construction and commissioning of the Thessaloniki metro. These services included: negotiations with the Greek legal counsels of the state, drafting of new legislation on mediation procedures, drafting of a complaint before the EU authorities, The project comprises of an underground line of two tracks of 9.6 kilometers in length, thirteen stations, the depot, etc. It also includes the procurement of 18 trains and the commissioning of all systems, including training of the operational personnel.

• Provision of legal advice to a N.Y.S.E. company in relation to a consultancy contract awarded to this company for the privatization and development of the land of the old Athens Airport issued by the Greek State.

• Preparation of a Legal Due Diligence Report for the potential purchaser of the company which owns and operates one of the most well-known Hotels in Athens.

• Provision of legal advice and preparation of due diligence legal reports for the purchase or long lease of certain hotels and resorts located in the islands of Rhodes and Crete, Greece, by a European group of companies.

• Provision of legal services and legal opinions to an Italian food company in relation to permanent establishment and transfer pricing issues and implementation of the relevant Double Taxation Treaty.

• Provision of legal services and legal opinions to a major US subsidiary in Greece in relation to the non-imposition of withholding taxes on royalties based on the relevant Double Taxation Treaties.

• Objection procedure before the Greek Administrative Courts for the Decision of the Tax Authority for not exempting Greek companies from imposition of special tax on their real estate in case the ultimate shareholder of the companies is a trust.

 

Languages

Greek, English.

Memberships

Athens Bar Association qualified to appear before all courts, including the Supreme Court

Voting representative, State Capital Group

Voting representative, the American-Hellenic Chamber of Commerce

International Bar Association

Education

University of Athens Law School (LL.B. 1979)

Common Market Law and Shipping Law – University College London, University of London (LL.M. 1981)