Nick Holuigue Partner

Background

Nick has extensive experience in advising on a myriad of real estate transactions and heads Maddocks Commercial Development practice.

He acts for commercial investors and developers both private and listed active in the property sector. He has extensive experience throughout the delivery chain from complex acquisitions and associated due diligence, documenting agreements with land owners and/or joint ventures through to owners corporation structuring and delivery of subdivisions and the management of a high volume leasing and sales.

Nick is client relationship partner for many of the firms largest offshore and local commercial developer clients, including Mirvac, Satterley, OSK, Dahua Group, Golden Age, Gurner TM, Grocon, Aspial, Tong Eng, Roxy Pacific and Everbright Group. In that role, he manages the provision of a variety of legal services throughout the project lifecycle.

He is a current board member at Maddocks and of the Robin Boyd Foundation, and is an active member of the Property Council’s Residential Development Committee and the UDIA’s Global Unit.

Legal Expertise

• property acquisitions and disposals and associated due diligence management
• shopping centre and bulky goods centres
• community master planning
• large scale residential towers
• insolvency related property disposal
• joint venture advice
• subdivisions

Recognition

Nick is acknowledged in a number of directories, including:

Legal 500 Asia Pacific, 2014, 2017-2018, recommended for Real Estate.

Best Lawyers Australia, 2017, recommended for Real Property Law.

Doyle’s Guide, 2017-2018, recommended for Property & Real Estate.

Chambers Asia Pacific, 2011-2018, ranked for Real Estate. Clients are quoted as saying he ‘is an experienced adviser on commercial real estate transactions in Victoria’, ‘a very good strategic thinker with a good grasp of transactional issues’, is ‘knowledgeable and has a good perspective on the industry and what’s happening’, and that he provides ‘informed advice based on long experience’.

Relevant Experience

• Grocon Group – providing ongoing commercial and retail leasing advice to Grocon Group in relation to a boutique retail shopping centre in Melbourne. We also advised Grocon Group (in a joint venture with GIC Singapore) in relation to a proposed Build to Rent development of more than 400 apartments for executive style tenants located in both Victoria and New South Wales. Advice included pre-acquisition advice and advice in relation to GST and treatment of duties of this new type of acquisition, contract negotiations and settlement.
• OSK Property – advising a Malaysian developer on the development of Melbourne Square in Southbank, a 5 acre multi-staged 5 tower mixed development project, including initial development structuring advice (including the establishment of a site management agreement across the precinct), negotiations of a detailed s173 agreement with Council to protect the developer rights in relation to open spaces and advice on staging of the development and associated sales documentation
• Mirvac – advising on various acquisition and realisations of development assets, including Woodlea, a master planned mixed-use community with a project life of more than 15 years, and the 3,000 plus lot development of Olivine from establishing joint venture documentation with the landowner through to ongoing development advice including cost sharing of infrastructure delivery, planning agreements, school sales and development and conveyancing. Nick has also advised on the operation of owners corporations within master planned communities as well as high rise developments in Victoria.
• GurnerTM – providing on-going structuring, tax and commercial advice to one of Victoria’s most active developers in relation to the establishment and implementation of several medium-density strata plan residential projects in Melbourne’s inner suburbs and CBD including establishing development rights through property development agreements.
• Impact Investment Group – advising this impact investment fund and B Corporation on the initial acquisition and redevelopment of the historic Younghusband Woolstores in Kensington to a commercial precinct, comprising 220 office spaces (2,100 sqm) plus retail and food and beverage space. Recent advice includes establishing master Agreements for Lease and Lease for the precinct. The development will be created with the highest sustainability standards, aiming for a carbon, water and waste neutral site.
• Tong Eng Brothers – advising Tong Eng Brothers on two acquisitions of tenanted buildings together with a further St Kilda Road acquisition with a joint venturer Roxy Pacific. Advice included providing pre-acquisition advice/due diligence following a competitive EOI process, advice in relation to payment of incentives and coordinating the negotiating the finance documents and achieving financial close for the acquisition.
• Aspial Corporation – advising this Singaporean publicly listed company and its subsidiary World Class Land, in the acquisition of three major Melbourne city sites in King Street, Southbank Boulevard and A’Beckett Street. The Southbank site will be home to the Southern hemisphere’s tallest tower, known as Australia 108. Nick advised on all aspects of the acquisitions, negotiation of the terms of contract, due diligence, finance agreements and issues including foreign investment review board approval. Subsequent assistance has been provided in the appointment of key consultants and builders, owners corporation structuring, sales and marketing needs as the owner looks to deliver this iconic Melbourne project and managing more than $1billion of its residential sales and recent disposal of management rights.
• Satterley Property Group – managing a variety of legal services for one of Victoria’s largest greenfield developers from acquisition advice through to delivery of all Victorian conveyancing, including Upper Point Cook (2000 lots), Habitat, Tarneit (850 lots), Riverstone, Plenty River (1250 lots), Coburg Hill (600 lots), Aspect, Officer (1700 lots), True North Estate (1350 lots) and its new Mickleham Road and Donnybrook Road projects. Advice on these developments included establishment of master contracts of sale, acting on the sales of medium density sites and superlot sites (neighbourhood activity centres, child care centres and other uses), advice on builder relationship documents with Metricon, Porter Davis and other builders and review and/or preparation of construction contracts.
• Evolve – advising on a number of projects including The Summerhill (800 lots), The Woods (600 lots) and Annandale (over 1000 lots) master planned community projects including advising on the initial acquisition, due diligence and JV documentation and drafting and negotiating all master sale documents and sales management. He has also managed the legal requirements of all residential apartment projects including recently the Guilfoyle multi-level apartment blocks project in South Melbourne, where Evolve was a joint venture partner with ISPT and Jewell, Williamstown and Monarc Apartments, Melbourne.
• Various developers – advising other developers on multi-storey and ‘greenacre’ residential developments including acquisition, subdivision, body corporate management, structuring and off-the-plan contracts, and general sale and strategy advice. These include Amex, Grocon, Everbright, Neometro, Investa, ID Land, GurnerTM, Satterley Group, Parklea and Buxton Group.