Expertise

Ioana heads the Real Estate practice of the firm and coordinated teams assisting investment funds, corporate investors and financial institutions in relation to projects that have shaped the Romanian real estate market. She has outstanding experience in all types of real estate projects, from office buildings and shopping centers, residential, logistic and industrial related projects to handling concession agreements, public-private real estate partnerships and agricultural investments.

She has over 21 years of experience advising both foreign and Romanian clients on corporate, private sales and acquisitions, complex lease agreements, construction contracts (governed by domestic legislation as well as FIDIC or FIDIC-based agreements).

Ioana is specialized in:

  • due diligence, drafting, structuring and negotiating real estate transaction documents
  • assistance with construction and development of real estate projects
  • mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures in real estate area
  • general corporate matters in the real estate industry
  • distressed assets and insolvency
  • urbanism and town planning
  • real estate aspects of wind and photovoltaic projects

Industry Focus

Representative Cases and Transactions

  • assistance to a leading real estate investment firm active in the CEE area on a landmark listing on the AIM market operated by the London Stock Exchange
  • forward-purchases of real estate projects and related financing by a leading German financial institution, the largest transaction in this field to date in Romania
  • acquisition by a noted businessman of the largest Class A office complex outside Bucharest, located in the center of Timisoara, consisting of three office buildings that have been completed and two buildings under construction,  a record-breaking transaction in the Romanian specialized market in terms of the size and value of the project
  • acquisition by a leading international producer of home appliance goods of the Nokia plant located in the Tetarom III Industrial Park, in Cluj County, as part of the group’s expansion on the Romanian market
  • joint venture by a noted businessman with a major South-African real estate developer for the development the largest office project outside of Bucharest, located in Cluj, with approximately 54,000 sq.m. of leasable space
  • due diligence process and acquisition by one of the largest real estate investors in Romania of a major office project fully let to one of the largest international banks present on the Romanian market
  • due diligence process and forward acquisition by one of the largest real estate investors in Romania of an office building (fully let) developed by a major Swedish developer
  • coordinating the real estate team granting legal services to one of the largest real estate funds active in Romania in view of its admission on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, for raising funds in view of the acquisition of a real estate portfolio, including third party pipeline projects, valued at 300 million EUR; further assistance granted to the client in view of the acquisition of the aforementioned real estate projects
  • forward lease agreement on behalf of the Romanian branch of a leading American software producer in relation to the leasing of office premises (approximately 24,000 sq.m. within Floreasca Park) with Portland Trust, recognized as a benchmark on the Romanian real estate market
  • drafting, negotiation and signing of a lease agreement for the site of a 12,000 sq.m. production facility for a global leader in the field of design, development and manufacturing of automotive safety-critical components and systems, including airbags, seat belts, and steering wheels
  • sale to a major South-African real estate developer of the sole shareholder of the company, which owned a Class A office building of approximately 35,000 sq.m. located in one of Bucharest’s residential areas

Accolades

Included in international rankings since 2009; most recently:

  • Top Ranked, Real Estate (Chambers and Partners, 2021)
  • Leading Individual, Real Estate and Construction (Legal 500, 2020)

One client enthuses that “Niculeasa pays more attention to detail than any lawyer I’ve encountered,” and adds that “she sees everything.”
(Chambers and Partners, 2021)

Ioana Niculeasa is “very experienced, knowledgeable and negotiates transactions so that they have a fair outcome for everyone”.
(Chambers and Partners, 2020)

Clients appreciate that “she is always available and really fights for us”.
(Chambers and Partners, 2019)

Clients say that she “has a very deep knowledge of the law – she really knows what she’s talking about – and a very good understanding of the real estate market”.
(Chambers and Partners, 2018)

Education

  • University of Bucharest Law School, Law Degree
  • Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Collège Juridique Franco-Roumain d’Etudes Européennes, Law Degree (Maitrise en Droit, Droit Européen)
  • World Intellectual Property Organization – General course of intellectual property, DL101
  • Romanian Development Law Association – Theoretical and practical course on “Intellectual property in Practice: How to protect and Enforce IPR”

Memberships and Affiliations

  • Bucharest Bar

Notable Contributions

  • speaker at the CEDER 2017, CEDER 2018, CEDER 2019 and CEDER 2020 conferences, organized by CEE Construction & Investment Journal (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
  • “Significant Evolution of the Real Estate Publicity System in Romania” (GC Grapevine, 2012)
  • “Some comments regarding the unconstitutionality exception in Romanian law system” (Business Law Review, 2005) (co-author)
  • trainer for Phare project RO 02/IB/SO-01 regarding the setting up of the National Agency for Equality of Opportunities between Men and Women (training courses in Madrid and Cadiz, Spain) (2004)
  • “The rank of preferences of the claims within the Romanian law” (Romanian Commercial Review, 2004) (co-author)
  • “Legal framework (civil, fiscal) of supply agreements” (Romanian Business Law Review, 2003) (co-author)