Team size: Three

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

Our company owns and manages shopping centers in Europe and Turkey. As the legal team, we have various significant projects. One of them was the sale of a shopping centre via share deal. We took an active role in the preparation and update of the data room; the review and revision of the SPA; identified separate issues and eliminated them before the sale took place; and organised the cooperation between our headquarters, the local team and the parties of the deal to ensure a smooth deal.

Another very important project is the compliance with the amendments introduced by the Regulation on Shopping Centers. These amendments have changed the daily operations significantly, in terms of common expenses and advertisement fees that can be collected from tenants. We have put in place new policies for compliance with the regulation.

Lastly, together with our headquarters and territory legal team, we are putting in place new compliance processes and policies. Our legal team ensures their communication to the teams in Turkey and their correct application.

What strategic priorities are guiding you and your team in 2024?

I worked in a law firm for eight years before joining Klepierre. At the law firm, I experienced the importance of thinking like a businessman as well as a lawyer, which is why I treat my company just like a client.

I am a business-oriented lawyer. When I provide legal feedback or advice, I always consider the business side of the question at hand and try to make a legal assessment based on that. My main focus is on making the business flow while taking the correct legal measures. When our teams want to take a risky decision, I aim to provide them with all the information so that they can take an adequately calculated risk. Furthermore, I always try to dig deeper to fully understand all the aspects of a matter and try to make my analysis based on that.

In 2024, on top of the above, we will dig into new CSR and ESG matters in our daily business life. We will also try to implement Act4Good policies for our company to be sustainable.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

I am passionate about not just being a lawyer but also being on the business side of things. I always try to spend time with the leasing and asset team to better understand how they think and what matters to them. I am also passionate about learning more about the new hot topic of ESG and sustainability.