Home > Practice Areas > Real Estate

In the past several years the real estate market of Russia attracted a significant number of investors from all over the world. Hellevig Klein & Usov provides legal support on all stages of real estate transactions. Our lawyers are actively involved in private and commercial real estate acquisitions of all sizes and advise partnerships, joint ventures, holdings and investment trusts on all aspects of their activities.

Although the real estate market continues to expand, the acquisition process can often be complicated by inefficient administrative procedures formed during Russia’s recent transition to market economy. Hellevig, Klein & Usov offers the expert assistance representing clients in negotiations with local authorities, and provides ultimate solutions in financing, taxation, corporate and other related areas. Staying in tune with the local economic and political developments, our attorneys join their efforts with Avenir Group’s accounting and audit teams to produce critical and cost-effective solutions tailored to our clients’ needs.

Our real estate services include:

• Due Diligence
• Tax
• Audit
• Transaction Support
• Permits and Licenses
• Construction tenders
• Advice on investment memoranda for real estate acquisitions/sales
• Financial modeling for real estate projects
• Development of business plans and feasibility studies
• Market research
• Site selection and site acquisition services
• Property value assessments
• Real Estate dispute resolution

Our specialists have worked with practically all types of real estate projects, including hotels, shopping centers, office buildings, energy plants, factories, warehouses, research facilities, and residential complexes.

Description of some of our projects:

• Advising on implementation of a complex regional greenfield project (valued at $3.5 billion) by a US-Russian joint venture. It included negotiating with regional authorities on land and architectural issues, drafting relevant agreements, conducting legal analysis of project documentation, and registration of property title.
• Complete support from due diligence to transaction support on purchase of 63 HA plot
• Complete support from due diligence to transaction support on purchase of 27 HA plot - $38.5M transaction
• Complete legal and outsourced accounting support with respect to a brownfield construction and development project for international hotel chain
• Complete legal and outsourced accounting support with respect to a establishing a supermarket chain
• Complete deal support from due diligence to deal support on purchase of 19,000 sq meter warehouse in Moscow region including company structuring and purchase of one extra 1 HA plot – Project value - $31.4M
• Deal support representing a developer selling a development stake in a 21,000 sq meter
• Advised a $175M Real estate fund on company structuring and management agreements
• Advised on subleasing of various floors in new office block – over10,000 sq meters
• Advising a large industrial corporate group on the purchase of a 10 ha plot of land in Moscow Region and changing the designated use for the land;
• Advising an airline on leasing a land site in Moscow Region;
• Representing a large agricultural corporate group in the acquisition of a land site;
• Advising a client on acquisition of a number of 5+ ha plots of land in Moscow Region;
• Negotiating various FIDIC contracts for several medium-sized construction projects;
• Representing an electrical company in negotiations with its landlord regarding the early termination of an office lease agreement;
• Undertaking real estate searches for hotel chains, restaurants and various retail chains;
• Providing financial modeling and analysis for a tenant of a 10,000 sq meter office to inform its choice between the purchase of a new building, renovation of an existing building, or starting a greenfield project;
• Represented a construction company with respect to the development of 12 homes, a total of 18,000 sq meters; project size over 10M Euros
• Developing a financial business plan for financial leasing commercial properties in Moscow.