We are glad to inform you that GRATA International Belarus was a partner at the 2nd Belarusian Developer Forum, which was held on Friday, November 22, 2019.
In recent years, we have recorded an increase in interest in acquiring rights to land plots and real estate on them through business acquisition.
We attribute this to the fact that intended purpose and square of offered land plots at auction do not always meet buyer’s requirements. Additionally, the amount of all offered at auction plots is usually limited and the transfer of rights on undeveloped land is complicated.
Moreover, transfer of rights on the building under construction to a new investor includes building conservation, complicated mechanism for project documentation rights transfer and obtaining various new permits and approval. Not all these processes are always possible.
Acquisition of a business that owns good real estate is a way to buy a ready-made business without much publicity. That is why Dmitry Viltovsky ("Office Real Estate. Business Centers") and Maxim Lashkevich ("Warehouse Real Estate. Trade and Logistics Centers") made a presentation on the topic "M&A as a way to obtain rights to real estate."
During the presentation, the partners shared their experiences on the following blocks of issues that should be addressed along with due diligence:
- Land documents
- Real estate documents
- Completeness and accuracy of land tax/rent payment
- Permits in case of acquisition of a business that has already obtained necessary permits.
- Urban planning in case of an acquisition of a business that owes land plots and real estate for further development
- Possible conflicts with local residents or potential competitors acting through local residents.
- Establishment of a settlement procedure in which the seller partially shares the buyer's risks due to the nature of the seller’s actions in the process of management of the sold business.
