Hilary McDowell

Hilary McDowell is a Partner, Head of the CEE Real Estate practice group and Head of the CMS Real Estate and Construction sector group.

Hilary is ranked in band 1 in Chambers 2010 Real Estate lawyers in the Czech Republic and described in the publication as ''a safe pair of hands – very pragmatic and always willing to find a solution.” Hilary is also ranked in tier one in Legal 500, 2010 for Real Estate lawyers in the Czech Republic.

Relevant experience includes advising: 

• Mayfield on the sale of an office building in Prague to an investment fund
• A fund managed by Carpathian Asset Management in relation to the sale of a shopping centre in Karlovy Vary for a purchase price of EUR 49.6 million
• A fund managed by Pramerica Real Estate Investors on the acquisition of office and retail complex A7 Arena Prague from ING Real Estate Development
• A fund managed by Standard Life Investments Ltd in its joint venture with a developer in respect of various development sites in the Czech Republic and Poland
• Orco Property Group in relation to the construction of the new headquarters for Radio Free Europe in Prague
• The owners of Pinnacle Real Estate, Merrill Lynch (through its Global Principal Investments group) and the Pinnacle founders on the sale of Pinnacle Real Estate to Arcapita, a Bahrain-based investment fund. The deal included 230,000 sqm of leased warehouses and a land bank of almost 1.5 million sqm for future development. The transaction involved acquisitions in four CEE countries (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria) and Luxembourg, and English and local law documentation
• A Belgian based real estate firm on the purchase out of administration and subsequent restructuring of a major pan-CEE real estate investment and holding group, including Czech subsidiaries

Education:

BA Jt Hons Leicester University, College of Law, Chester, Common Professional Examination (Commendation)
College of Law, Chester, Law Society Final Examinations (First class honours)
Member of the Czech Chamber of Advocates