Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense? 

In anticipation of our country preparing to absorb the funds from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, our organisation built a new unit within HRADF to serve as an advisor to Central Government on the functioning of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.  

The groundwork was primarily legal, and all steps were crafted by our in-house legal team. HRADF created a new independent operational unit, the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) to mature, carry out the tender process, and supervise the implementation stage for projects of strategic importance, which are classified as part of the Strategic Project Pipeline (SPP). The creation of the PPF unit is an example of how we utilised our experience and know-how from closed transactions to build new mechanisms 

HRADF has a thorough understanding of and experience in the public sector processes. The new unit draws on the asset development experience gained by HRADF to effectively and efficiently mature projects of strategic importance, use RRF financing and reduce bureaucracy and ministerial workload. 

Through expertise on environmental licensing of large-scale investments, as well as the acquired knowledge of and familiarity with public-sector procedures, HRADF aims at the essential development of the country’s ports infrastructure and the promotion of investments with a positive footprint for local communities by improving existing facilities and creating new jobs.  

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

Our philosophy is to act as a strategic partner to the Greek State to attract investments, enhance Greece’s economy’s growth potential, strengthen its international credibility, and produce national wealth. 

Within this context, HRADF’s fundamental priorities are to expedite processes by maturing projects, making them as attractive and risk-free as possible for the investors, and to work diligently to achieve full social acceptance for our projects by all stakeholders.  

The Fund’s asset portfolio is diverse and includes companies’ shares, infrastructure assets, and real estate in the most competitive market categories. HRADF manages and develops part of the state’s private property to maximise its value and attract direct investments through the implementation of the Asset Development Plan. 

Every six months, HRADF designs and approves an updated version of the ADP, considering the expected revenues of the semester, the long-term benefits, and the complexity and maturity level of each project.  

In this regard, our legal team’s has actively participated in the unsealing of the six financial offers submitted in the tender process for the award of a services concession agreement in relation to the financing, operation, maintenance and exploitation of Attica Motorway for a period of 25 years; the submission of four offers for the acquisition of a majority stake of at least 67% in the share capital of Volos Port Authority; the declaration of the Preferred Investor in the tender for the sub-concession of the right to construct, operate, manage and maintain the Mega Yachts Marina in Corfu and in the tender for the development of Heraklion Port Authority through the acquisition of a 67% majority stake in its share capital; and  many tender launches and on- going developments in the real estate projects, including Porto Heli, Nea Iraklia, and e-auction assets, among others.  

How important is choosing to work with external lawyers who align with your company’s values? Are you likely to reconsider what firms you work with based on this? 

Our external lawyers are extremely important collaborators and contribute significantly to the effective unrolling and implementation of the various tenders we manage and monitor. Alignment to our company’s values is a prerequisite in the selection and evaluation process of legal firms offers when we publish RFPs. They are also consistently reviewed and assessed based on performance and other qualitative criteria in the rendering of their services.