Position: PPP Leader, Co-Head of Real Estate
Company: Salans
Country: Russia
Sector: Legal
Projects:

Details:

Natalia Diatlova is Of Counsel and Co-Head of Salans' St. Petersburg office real estate practice group, as well as leads Russian PPP practice group. She is in practice for more than 12 years.

A well-known real estate expert in St. Petersburg, Natalia has considerable experience in infrastructure, PPP and procurement law, as well as in general corporate and commercial law and in real estate and construction law.

Natalia has actively participated and led St Petersburg team in the first PPP project in Russia – a toll road “Western High Speed Diameter” in St Petersburg (46 km) - to date the only concession project (toll road construction project) in Russia. She was actively involved in drafting tender documentation for the St. Petersburg government for the New Holland Project and assisted in arrangement all tender formalities on behalf of the St Petersburg Government. Natalia also advised a UK-based petrol company in representation of its interests in tender for a set of the land plots for construction of petrol stations. She has also coordinated a number of sizeable international investment projects in the North-West Region on Russian commercial and civil law matters, real estate matters, foreign investment, co-investment agreements and implementation of greenfield and brownfield projects for construction/reconstruction of multifunctional trade centres, business centres, warehouses and production facilities, as well as merger and acquisitions projects.

Natalia is a member of the European PPP Center and actively participates in discussions of the amendments to the Russian PPP and PPP–related laws, as well as in St Petersburg and other cities of Russia.
Natalia is the Legislative and Lobbying Committee of the St. Petersburg International Business Association. She is a frequent contributor to technical journals and the author of various articles on investment, real estate, PPP and infrastructure issues. She is actively participates in international investment conventions and exhibitions, such as Adam Smith, the European Finance Convention, EXPO REAL, Real Vienna and MIPIM. Natalia is a licensed advocate and is experienced in litigation and arbitration.

Recent Experience:

• Representation of consortium of Strabag AG,  Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH, Bouygues Travaux Publics, Egis Projects, Basic Element and AB “GazPromBank” ZAO in first PPP (public-private partnership) project in Russia on construction of a toll road (46 km), including drafting a concession agreement, preparation of a bid package, active negotiations with Russian federal and St. Petersburg authorities. Project value: 212,8 billion Rubles.
• Advising a consortia of a major French construction company and a major Russian developer in preparing and submitting a bid and implementation of a project for construction a waste incineration plant, including negotiations with St Petersburg authorities and advices on procurement law. Project value: Euro 200 mln.
• Advising Deutsche Bank AG in structuring a loan secured by mortgage of the hotel including general assistance in due diligence of a famous St. Petersburg shopping mall, and drafting mortgage documents.
• Representing JER Partners and Alfa Capital Group in acquisitions of DIY retail centres involving the purchase of two Russian companies owning three DIY retail centres in St. Petersburg in which the clients acted as a purchaser, including negotiating and drafting the transaction documents, as well as coordinating and overseeing the transactions.
• Advising Fleming Family & Partners, a major US-based investment fund in the acquisition of a land plot for development of a business centre and warehouse, including assistance in due diligence and drafting the transaction documents.
• Acting as a legal advisor on all investment and real estate matters associated with the construction of industrial facilities in St Petersburg, Leningrad Oblast and in the North-west Region (International Paper, Merloni Termosanitari s.a., Nokian Tyres, Alcan Packaging, Gillette, Pfleiderer, Toyota, Scania, Electrolux), including assistance executing an investment agreement with Russian state authorities, advice on regulatory and zoning issues, negotiation of lease agreements.
• Advising CA IMMO fund acting as an investor in the financing and implementation of a Greenfield project in St. Petersburg  for development of a retail and entertainment centre, including drafting of a framework preliminary lease agreement and lease agreement.
• Advising a major UK-based developer in structuring a sale and lease back project in St. Petersburg, including drafting the transaction financing documents.
• Drafting tender documentation for the St. Petersburg government for New Holland Project.

Natalia Diatlova is an author of the following articles:

• “PPP Infrastructure Projects in Russia: Key Issues” Global Real Estate Client Report, Salans, Spring 2009
• “Public-Private Partnership: A Step Forward for Concession Legislation”, Real Estate Catalogue, St.Petersburg Times, October 2007
• “Review of  main regulatory acts in federal real estate legislation from August 1- December 31,and those that entered into force as of January 1, 2007” Kollegia, April 2007 (co-author)
• “Industrial Real Estate Construction: Legislation Update”, the Moscow Times, April 2007 (co- author)

Natalia graduated from the St. Petersburg State University (JD, with honours, 1996).   She speaks Russian and is fluent in English.