The Welcome Reception will take place at the famous top floor of the Austrian Palace of Justice. We are glad to welcome you there.

The Welcome Reception is hosted by the local hosting committee.

Registration and Welcome coffee / Tea.

At the beginning of the conference we kindly ask you the come to the registration desk. There you will get all the important informations.

Opening adress

The real estate market: current trends, key players and opportunities

Economists, asset managers, developers will give an up-to-date economic report on
the industry, both through a geographical and an industry perspective.

Speakers:

• Jörg Banzhaf, Managing Director ECE Otto, Hamburg;
• Dr. Walter Hampel, Senior Director Europe, pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank AG, Munich;
• Martin Hoppe, Director Real Estate Acquisitions CEE, SEE, Russia at Commerz Real AG, Frankfurt;
• Dr. Andreas Ridder, Managing Director CEE, CB Richard Ellis, Vienna;
• Dr. Martin Sabelko, Managing Director ING Real Estate, Prague.

Moderator:

• Evan Lazar, Co-Chair, Salans, Global Real Estate

Hosted by the Local Host Committee

Cross border real estate investments: Hot topics

Attorneys and real estate professionals from various jurisdictions will discuss recent ­developments in their fields of expertise and report on the development of new tools

Speakers:

• Stefan Artner, Partner, Dorda Brugger & Jordis, Vienna;
• Gary Gürtler, Regional General Manager Central & Eastern Europe, Regus, Zurich;
• Stefan Marker, Chief Investment Officer, CA Immo International, Vienna;
• Philip G. Skinner, Attorney at Law, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Atlanta / Georgia.

Moderator:

• Duarte de Athayde, Partner, Abreu Advogados, Lisbon

Hosted by the Local Host Committee

The Green Thumb: What should a real estate lawyer know? – Energy efficiency, energy certification and Ecolabel of buildings: an EU overview

An analysis of the content and implementations of Directive CE 2002/91 concerning the energy efficiency and energy certification of buildings, focusing on practical issues that arise in real estate transactions.

Speakers:

• Dr.Ing. Martin Elsberger, European Commission, DG Energy and Transport, Unit D4 - Energy Efficiency;
• Sarah Lee, Public Affairs Representative of ICSC and Associate Director at Interel Cabinet Stewart European Affairs, Brussels;
• Bernat Mullerat, Partner, Cuatrecasas, Barcelona;
• Dr. Manfred Ton, Partner, Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati, Vienna.

Moderator:

• Claudio Cocuzza, Partner, Cocuzza & Associati, Milan

Hosted by the Local Host Committee

Real Estate Disputes - Baptism of a contract by fire

Cross-border transactions can result in significant litigation in multiple jurisdictions.
This panel of dispute resolution and tax experts will discuss the dos and don’ts of drafting real estate contracts to facilitate (or prevent) effective enforcement of the terms of the contract upon a breach of those terms. Issues to be discussed include: securing strategic advantages, choice of court, choice of law, alternative dispute resolution, BIT protection and tax issues.

Speakers:

• Dr. Manfred Heider, Secretary General, Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC), Vienna;
• Dr. Christian Klausegger, Partner, Binder Grösswang, Vienna;
• Prof. Dr. August Reinisch, University of Vienna, Dept. International Law, Vienna;
• Wojciech Sztuba, Partner, TPA Horwath, Warsaw.

Moderator:

• Nikolaus Pitkowitz, Partner, Graf & Pitkowitz, Vienna

Remarks by Conference Chair

Cocktail Reception and Gala Dinner will take place at the historical Kunsthistorisches Museum. The keynote speech will be held by Ms. Brigitte Jank, president of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce.

Special performance by the Wiener Sängernknaben (Vienna Boys Choir)

Registration and Welcome coffee / tea

Cross Border Divestment: Golden Opportunity or Bitter Pill?

The recent downturn in the real estate market has sparked a rise in opportunistic investment. But what needs to be done to turn around a failing property? What is the role of the financing bank? How can a new investor benefit from this? What legal measures enable a seller to pull out of a failing real estate project quickly and effectively? A panel consisting of experienced investors, bankers, lawyers and real estate consultants will discuss these questions. 

Speakers:

• Pii Ketvel, CEO Marcol Capital Europe, Luxembourg;
• Zsolt Kohalmi, Meyer Bergman, London;
• George Leslie, M & P Incorporated, Budapest;
• Jaroslav Sedivka, General Manager Czech Republic, Aareal Bank, Prague;
• Thomasz Zasacki, Partner, Wardynski & Partners, Warsaw.

Moderator:

• Martin Holler, Partner, Giese & Partner, Prague

Hosted by the Local Host Committee

Interruption of the Development Pipeline - Workout Scenarios (CEE Focus)

Experts from several CEE Jurisdictions (Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, ­Russia and Croatia) will discuss innovative solutions and workout scenarios for interrupted real estate developments, including potential pitfalls in different jurisdictions.

Speakers:

• Boris Babic, Partner, Babic & Partner, Zagreb;
• Timur Bondaryev, Partner, Arzinger, Kiev;
• Popa Razvan, Counsel, Kinstellar, Bucharest;
• Sergey Strembelev, Senior Attorney, Head of Real Estate, Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, St. Petersburg;
• Ilko Stoyanov, Partner, Schoenherr, Sofia;
• Patrick Tausz, Partner, Szecskay, Budapest.

Moderator:

• Peter Oberlechner, Partner, Wolf Theiss, Vienn

by the Conference Chair

Hosted by the Local Host Committee

Vienna at it´s best: Sightseeing