Multimillion-euro acquisition of prime real estate in Marbella

We advised a foreign investment group on the acquisition of a high-value real estate asset in Marbella, in a particularly demanding transaction involving commercial pressure, legal complexity, international financing and the need to structure the investment properly from the outset.

The seller wanted to move quickly. So did the real estate agent. Timelines were tight and, as often happens in transactions of this size, each new review raised a different issue.

The due diligence process was particularly intensive. We had to review title, planning and technical documentation, coordinate architects and other professionals, analyse discrepancies, obtain valuations and official appraisals, and address issues that had not necessarily been apparent at the beginning of the negotiations.

Some of those reviews brought surprises.

This was where timing became critical. The transaction had to keep moving without losing the opportunity, but without allowing commercial pressure to push the client into assuming risks that had not yet been properly assessed.

At the same time, the acquisition had to fit within a broader corporate and financial structure.

This required the investment structure, the transfer of funds from abroad, financing, banking arrangements, taxation and the necessary corporate documentation to be coordinated in parallel so that everything was ready at the right time.

Transactions of this kind involve many moving parts: banks, tax advisers, notaries, architects, valuers, intermediaries and legal teams in different countries. The challenge is not simply ensuring that each party does its job properly, but making sure that everyone works to the same timetable and towards the same closing.

Tax also had to be considered from the outset. The exercise was not simply to calculate the taxes arising from the acquisition, but to consider how the investment should be structured, how the funds should be contributed and how ownership of the asset should be organised efficiently and consistently with the client’s wider international wealth position.

Negotiation did not end with the price either.

It was necessary to distinguish between the issues that justified taking a firm position, those that required additional protections or documentation, and those that could be resolved pragmatically without jeopardising a transaction the client wanted to complete.

That balance becomes particularly delicate when there is an emotional attachment to the property.

Once a buyer can already imagine living in a house, it becomes more difficult to maintain a completely objective view of the transaction. Part of our role is precisely to provide that distance: protecting the client’s interests without turning every issue into an unnecessary obstacle.

In real estate acquisitions of this level, signing the deed is only the visible part.

Much of the work happens beforehand: due diligence, negotiation, structuring, financing, tax, technical documentation and coordination between all the parties involved.

The objective is that, when the time comes to close, the risks are understood, the structure is right and the client can focus on enjoying the investment rather than dealing with problems that could have been anticipated.