SSW shortlisted for the Europaproperty CEE Retail Awards

We have been shortlisted for one of the most prestigious retail real estate awards – Europaproperty CEE Retail Awards – in the “Law firm” category.

This is the twelfth edition of the awards, which recognise some of the most accomplished projects, companies, retailers, advisors and individuals from the CEE region. As part of the initiative, the annual “Company of the Year” awards are presented to the leading developer, investor, bank, consultant/letting agent, asset management firm, professional service provider, law firm, property management firm and tax & financial adviser in Central and Eastern Europe for activities and accomplishments. Companies are judged on their overall market contribution, quality of customer services, market innovation, commercial success, leadership and market penetration.

SSW Pragmatic Solutions has been shortlisted along with another 6 law firms. We provide industry-specific legal advice to key retail market players in the CEE region and beyond. A small sample of our achievements in the retail real estate sector include:

• Advising on the acquisition of the Tesco real estate portfolio. Investment vehicles, belonging to the 4fi and Origami groups conducting investment activity, primarily on the retail real estate market, acquired the portfolio of 5 commercial facilities from Tesco, where hypermarkets and smaller stores are located, in various Polish cities. The acquisition involved purchasing 100% of the rights and obligations in the target companies. The real estate consisted of areas of Tesco’s mega store and areas rented for other types of retail sales and services.
• Advising on the negotiation of a joint venture agreement to construct a portfolio of retail projects throughout Poland. Project value approx. EUR 100m.
• Advising on a forward purchase transaction to acquire a shopping centre in southern Poland.
• Advising on the sale of two shopping centres in central Poland. We prepared the transaction documentation and conducted negotiations with the buyer. Transaction value approx. EUR 20m.
• Advising CCC on its expansion into international markets. To date, we have assisted CCC in determining commercial space lease conditions at 14 locations in 7 CEE countries.

We sincerely congratulate the other shortlisted law firms. Congratulations to our retail clients and the whole SSW real estate team – led by Maciej Duch – for actively supporting our clients in this expanding sector. This nomination confirms our current success and represents our ongoing motivation to support future retail endeavours.