Banking, finance and capital markets
Kelemenis & Co’s four-partner firm fields a robust banking and finance practice. The firm acted for hotel developer Aquis Hotels & Resorts on the financing of its acquisition of seven hotels and resorts totalling more than €70m. The firm also acted for UBS on reviewing the regulatory and indirect tax implications of its stock lending agreements in Greek securities. Clients praise the firm’s ‘quick, focused and commercially switched-on approach’.

Energy
Kelemenis & Co has continued to strengthen its energy practice, with the team, led by name partner Yannis Kelemenis, instructed by World Bank to review Moldova’s energy industry and infrastructure to bring it in line with EU regulation and energy requirements. The firm has also been active on the transactional side, providing advice on the acquisition of a Greek hydroelectric power company.

Tax
Kelemenis & Co’s tax practice has gone from strength to strength thanks to Tom Kyriakopoulos’s ‘significant tax expertise’. The firm has been providing tax advice on Barclays’ venture capital investment in a Greek company, which has involved the review of direct and indirect tax issues arising out of inter-group and third-party service agreements.

Corporate and M&A
Kelemenis & Co has an international focus to its corporate practice. The firm has recently acted for Barclays, as majority shareholders in Greek subsidiary Youtravel.com, on an acquisition bid for the company by Western & Oriental. The energy sector is also a strong focus with the firm recently acting for Swiss-based Avelar Energy on a joint venture and acquisition of a Greek electricity company. Partners Yannis Kelemenis and Tom Kyriakopoulos come highly recommended for their ‘high professionalism and versatility’.

Dispute resolution
Kelemenis & Co’s litigation team has been instructed by Bond Pearce LLP to undertake the local enforcement of a €1m judgment awarded in the UK. Athanasiou Papantoniou leads a team that is lauded for its ‘professional attitude and timely delivery of output’.

EU and competition
Kelemenis & Co receives praise for its ‘focused, results-driven’ approach. The firm has been providing regulatory advice to the University of Teeside, and has been retained by Carrefour to provide corporate employment law advice and relevant EU law implications of termination agreements.

Intellectual property
Clients praise the IP practice at Kelemenis & Co for delivering ‘consistently top service’. The firm has advised spirits company Metaxa on trade mark violations by two competitors.

Projects and privatisation
Kelemenis & Co’s partner Tom Kyriakopoulos continues to strengthen the firm’s PPP practice, particularly in the energy sector, where it advised on the acquisition of a Greek hydroelectric power producer, involving careful attention to public procurement law.

Shipping finance
Kelemenis & Co’s shipping finance practice has been working with American law firm Salans on the NYSE listing of a shipping company with interests in Greece.