Team size: over 20 

What are the most significant cases, projects and/or transactions that you and/or your legal team have recently been involved in?

There are two significant recent transactions I would like to mention.

On the one hand, the legal team led the analysis and strategic involvement in the joint venture project between Banca March and Meliá Hotels International focused on the acquisition and repositioning of two significant hotel assets, Sol Tenerife and Innside Palma Bosque, in Mallorca and Tenerife. This collaboration deepened the long standing partnership between the financial institution and the hotel operator by creating a 70/30 co ownership structure aimed at enhancing asset quality and long term profitability.

This project has had a very positive impact on the company, and some points to highlight are as follows:

Strategic partnership expansion: The project strengthened cross organisational collaboration, reinforcing Meliá’s strategic alliance with Banca March, consolidating joint ownership of high value assets and enhancing shared business synergies.

Financial and operational value creation: The acquisition of over €140 m. and the subsequent planned investment of approximately €50 million to reposition the properties supported improved asset performance and long-term value appreciation.

Enhanced competitive positioning: Through strategic repositioning and rebranding plans, including full renovation phases and future brand alignment, the properties will compete more effectively in the leisure and ‘bleisure’ segments, aligning with evolving market demand.

Stakeholder confidence: The project increased investor and client confidence by demonstrating a clear roadmap for growth, quality improvement and collaboration with premium partners.

Another important milestone in 2025 was the initiative to redesign and execute a corporate debt refinancing project of €800 million through a syndicated loan led by major financial institutions, with the objective of restructuring the company’s financial framework. The transaction replaced multiple bilateral loans with different maturity schedules with a single syndicated facility, simplifying the balance sheet and optimising the debt profile.

The refinancing operation had a substantial impact on the company, reinforcing its financial position by allowing the early repayment of 19 bilateral loans exceeding €820 million and replacing them with a single, more efficient financing instrument. This restructuring optimised costs by reorganising maturities and simplifying the overall debt framework, strengthening the company’s liability profile and reducing liquidity risk. At the same time, the new financial setup aligned repayment schedules with the strategic growth roadmap through 2030, enabling continued investment in new openings and portfolio expansion, while also boosting credibility with investors and banking partners thanks to the successful execution of the transaction.

The process also incorporated several innovative elements, including the adoption of an advanced financial strategy based on a syndicated club deal structure that substituted fragmented debt with a stable long-term solution. It further introduced a maturity reprofiling aligned with projected growth and cash flow expectations, enhancing predictability over time.

Overall, this was not simply a refinancing exercise but a strategic initiative aimed at generating long term value, supporting expansion and strengthening the company’s sustainable growth trajectory.

What strategies do you employ to ensure the successful digital transformation of a legal department while maintaining compliance with your country’s data protection laws?

Technology plays a strategic and transformational role in the management of our Legal Department. Over the past years, we have moved from manual, fragmented processes to a digitally integrated operating model, where technology is an essential enabler of efficiency, transparency, risk mitigation and service quality.

Digital tools have allowed us to automate repetitive, low value tasks and free our lawyers to focus on higher value strategic work, supporting a more efficient and effective transformation.

Examples include:

Automation of contract templates through AI based systems such as Bigle Legal, enabling the automated generation of contracts and documents in a matter of minutes.

Legal workflow automation using AI to support drafting, streamline reviews and manage recurring documentation.

These initiatives have delivered measurable improvements, including reduced drafting time and greater standardisation of legal outputs.

Centralised legal request management, Legal Service Desk

We have transformed the management of legal queries through a service management tool tailored to the legal function.

Key features include:
Automatic assignment of matters to the appropriate expert.
Real time tracking of each request.
Historical data and analytics on volumes, response times and typology.

Impact: removal of bottlenecks, improved transparency and robust KPIs for decision making.

Strategic use of data and knowledge management

Technology enables us to manage legal information as a structured and strategic asset.

Integration of key databases into automated tools ensures accuracy and efficiency, including company information, powers of attorney and capital structures.

This reduces dispersion of information, improves reliability and supports faster responses to business needs.

Collaboration across teams and geographies

Digital tools facilitate global and cross functional collaboration.

Examples include collaborative environments for simultaneous work across jurisdictions, and platforms for sharing knowledge, training materials and departmental updates.

This supports a One Legal Team approach aligned with our global strategic vision.

AI as a driver of legal transformation

AI is increasingly embedded in core processes, supporting faster and more informed decision making.

Examples include predictive risk analysis, scenario simulation and early identification of legal risks, as well as generative AI tools supporting drafting, comparative analysis and legal strategy.

These tools also provide continuous assistance, document generation and extraction of insights from communications.

AI is becoming a key enabler of operational excellence and improved service quality.

Better governance, reporting and KPIs

Technology provides reliable data to support the strategic management of the department.

Examples include dashboards tracking response times, satisfaction, request types and workload distribution, as well as automated reporting that replaces manual tracking.

This enables better resource allocation, prioritisation of initiatives and clearer measurement of the legal function’s contribution to the business.