PLMJ partner Tiago Mendonça de Castro heads team that advised on the sale of Mercado da Ribeira to Oakley Capital Investments

PLMJ was the law firm chosen to advise the sellers on the sale of the company that holds the concession for “Mercado da Ribeira” to Oakley Capital Investments, which is owned by the Time Out Group.

The sale took around two months to complete and was coordinated by PLMJ's real estate and construction practice under partner and practice head Tiago Mendonça de Castro. The firm's corporate/M&A, litigation and public law practices also worked on the sale in a joint effort by the team with huge experience and know-how in advising on and implementing legal models for the sale of companies that own or operate shopping centres and similar real estate assets.

Mendonça de Castro explains that “this was a very significant and very demanding corporate real estate operation and its target was a company that operates a unique commercial space with very specific characteristics, one of which was the desire to acquire know-how from those who implemented the project with great success in a traditional market hall. This market has today become much more than a great collection of restaurants. It is also one of the projects that has brought new dynamism to the real estate sector along the Lisbon riverfront".

The Oakley Capital Investments fund saw potential to replicate this Lisbon project, which converted a traditional market into a gourmet food market, in other cities around the world, in particular, London, New York and Dubai, where similar projects may be set up following this Portuguese model.

Oakley Capital Investments was advised by Garrigues and DLA Piper, who also made an essential contribution to the success of sale.