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Real Estate & Construction

Ranked by the Legal 500 in Real Estate and Construction, Forgó, Damjanovic & Partners provides full-service real estate and construction advice, with particular emphasis on our specialist knowledge in disputes and in infrastructure and energy projects.

We assist developers, investors and investment funds, property owners, financiers, infrastructure and energy companies, lessors and lessees in their real estate and construction-related matters. Many of our assignments have cross-border aspects.

Our real estate practice works closely with our corporate and M&A, banking and disputes teams, which allows us to handle transactions where real estate forms part of a wider deal, as well as particularly complex areas of Hungarian regulation, including the ownership and use of agricultural land, the rules on national assets, and the permitting of large-scale developments.

Gábor Damjanovic often sits as an arbitrator on construction-related (FIDIC-based and other) disputes, drawing on which he can efficiently advise clients in such matters.

Services

We offer a wide range of services in Real Estate & Construction, including:

  • structuring real estate sale and purchase transactions through various legal structures, and drafting and negotiating the transactional documentation
  • full legal due diligence of properties and property portfolios, including large-volume shopping centre, office, hotel and agricultural portfolios
  • advising and representing clients in real estate related disputes, including construction disputes (FIDIC-based and otherwise), lease disputes and the termination of joint ownership
  • advising and representing both lessors and lessees in lease negotiations and in the management of long-term leases
  • advising and representing clients, and negotiating on their behalf, in construction matters, including FIDIC-based and other construction contracts, claims for additional and extra works
  • advising on real estate aspects of infrastructure, renewable energy and industrial projects, from greenfield land assembly to permitting and operation
  • advising on the acquisition and use of agricultural land, and on acquisitions from municipalities and other holders of national assets
  • advising and representing clients, and negotiating on their behalf, in connection with the establishment and the foreclosure of securities over real estate in financing-related matters
  • advising in real estate-related regulatory and licensing matters, such as zoning issues, building permits and plot formation

Contact

Zoltán Forgó
Gábor Damjanovic
Réka Bali
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Examples from our
track record

We provided full legal support to a consortium of international investors and developers on a casino and hotel investment, including the acquisition of approximately 330 hectares of land, the permitting procedures, the concession and transaction agreements, and representation in the numerous legal proceedings arising from the project.

We advised a real estate investment fund on acquiring 10 rural shopping centres in an asset deal, including due diligence on the properties, the drafting and negotiation of the transaction documents, the coordination of conditions precedent and closing, and the related regulatory and competition clearance.

We advised on the acquisition of a portfolio of over 300 solar parks, covering real estate due diligence, construction contracts, permits and financing, and environmental liability issues of a PV plant on a former mining site.

We advised an Italian investor on selling a majority stake in a Hungarian agricultural group, including joint venture matters and complex issues under Hungary's strict regulation of agricultural land ownership and use.

We negotiated, over several rounds, a high-value, long-term lease for a manufacturer of healthcare disinfectants, covering its production, warehousing and office operations.

We prepared and negotiated complex lease and site development agreements for a Central European oil company entering the Hungarian fuel retail market.

We represented an international agri-food company in the sale of its Hungarian production plant, partly located on agricultural land, from corporate and real estate structuring to overcoming regulatory obstacles.

We provided comprehensive advice to a leading fuel distributor on a filling station swap with another market player, including real estate and permit due diligence, transaction agreements, regulatory proceedings and related disputes.

We are advising an international manufacturer on acquiring adjacent municipally owned properties to expand its Hungarian site, in compliance with the rules on national assets.

We advised a foreign energy company on applying a FIDIC-based construction contract in Hungary, in particular on reconciling the international model contract with mandatory Hungarian law.

We advised a logistics company on a greenfield project, assisting with the acquisition of the land plots underlying the development; part of the land was agricultural land owned by private individuals, requiring specific expertise in the mandatory Hungarian rules on agricultural land.