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Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira is renowned in the Spanish market for the strength of its tax department. The firm has specialist knowledge across all areas of tax and several practitioners at the firm are identified as market leaders. Luis Bravo and Carlos ... [more]

Cuatrecasas Gonçalves Pereira is renowned in the Spanish market for the strength of its tax department. The firm has specialist knowledge across all areas of tax and several practitioners at the firm are identified as market leaders. Luis Bravo and Carlos Ferrer are both recommended for their ability in capital markets and financial services matters while Álvaro Antón is noted for his work in corporate tax matters. Jorge Arques is well regarded for his work in M&A by peers who commend his knowledge and commercial awareness. The team has a particularly strong ability to advise in international tax matters thanks to their expertise and an international network spanning Europe, America, Asia and North Africa. The firm's Spanish multinational clients include Endesa, the media group Grupo Majestic and oil company Cepsa, which it advised on their prospective purchase of Chevron's Spanish operations. The firm advised on all aspects of the transaction including the tax implications and liabilities for Cepsa that would arise from the purchase.

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Ernesto Jiménez leads the tax practice at Garrigues - Taxand in a department with 96 partners and 501 more fee earners. This makes the firm by far and away the biggest in the Spanish market. Competitors recognise the firm's huge capacity for work in ... [more]

Ernesto Jiménez leads the tax practice at Garrigues - Taxand in a department with 96 partners and 501 more fee earners. This makes the firm by far and away the biggest in the Spanish market. Competitors recognise the firm's huge capacity for work in Spain and several describe it as a "tax factory" in a complimentary way. The firm's clients reflect Garrigues's reputation and include multinationals such as General Motors and Iberia and financial institutions such as Grupo BBVA and Banco Santander. Eduardo Abad is a well regarded adviser in more than one practice area, though especially so in capital markets and financial products. This year he advised a Spanish bank on cross-border debt and equity issues by its various subsidiaries. The international elements and the structure of the group required intricate planning to ensure they were effected as efficiently as possible. The firm also advised on the structure to be used in the merger of British Airways and Iberia. The structure had to accommodate and ensure compliance with cross-border and domestic tax issues. The firm also had to ensure that the tax losses of Iberia were retained in the hive down prior to executing the merger to ensure the new conglomerate, International Airlines Group, had their benefit. The new company was also the first listed company granted permission by the tax authorities to benefit from the holding company tax regime in Spain. Transfer pricing is another area where the firm's advisers are highly respected, with Ramón López de Haro singled out for his ability in that area.

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Uría Menéndez's tax practice is led by Rafael Fuster with nine other partners and 50 fee earners completing the department. Competitors rate the firm very highly and one noted: "They deserve to be recognised among the top tax practices in Spain. They ... [more]

Uría Menéndez's tax practice is led by Rafael Fuster with nine other partners and 50 fee earners completing the department. Competitors rate the firm very highly and one noted: "They deserve to be recognised among the top tax practices in Spain. They have great quality across all of their partners." The firm has capability across all areas of tax, though much of its recent work has involved M&A, cross border structuring, restructuring work and tax controversy. The firm this year advised La Caixa on its group restructuring. This involved transferring its banking business to group company Criteria CaixaCorp in exchange for that company's industrial assets. Careful tax planning and liaison with the Spanish tax authorities was necessary to ensure efficiency and compliance for the different transactions involved which included contributions-in kind, share exchanges, a merger and an issue of convertible debentures. Jesús López Tello is recommended by competitors for his ability in several areas of tax and his expertise was central to Banco Santander's disposal of part of its Brazilian subsidiary to Qatar Holdings. The deal was intended to be a straightforward sale, but Banco Santander's decision to delay the sale for three years meant that the purchase had to be financed using mandatorily exchangeable bonds of Banco Santander due in 2013 and exchangeable for shares in Banco Santander Brasil, representing 5% of the company at the date of the transaction. As Qatar Holdings wished to use the bonds as collateral for its borrowing, the firm had to ensure that a subsequent acquirer would be able to immediately recover the Spanish withholding tax the bonds attracted so that lenders would accept them as security. This entailed substantial negotiation and liaison with the tax authorities to ensure that both parties' commercial requirements were accommodated in a tax efficient way.

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The tax team at Baker & McKenzie consists of 10 partners and 27 further fee earners and is led jointly by Pedro Aguarón in Barcelona and Rodrigo Ogea in Madrid. Tax partner Luis Briones was recently promoted to managing partner of the firm's Madrid office. ... [more]

The tax team at Baker & McKenzie consists of 10 partners and 27 further fee earners and is led jointly by Pedro Aguarón in Barcelona and Rodrigo Ogea in Madrid. Tax partner Luis Briones was recently promoted to managing partner of the firm's Madrid office. He is highly regarded by competitors for cross-border structuring and one contemporary noted: "The fact he is still visible in the tax market when he is also managing partner shows you how good he is. He really is a very good practitioner." The firm has a full service tax practice and their work is often linked to the firm's corporate, real estate and banking departments. However, the firm is also very well regarded in matters such as transfer pricing which is in high demand among its clients. The firm this year advised JC Flowers on its investment in Spanish savings banks Caja Sur and Banca Civica. It was the first non-Spanish entity to purchase a savings bank. There are no clear provisions on the tax implications of such a transaction in Spanish legislation and this transaction was further complicated by the cross border element. As such, the firm had to ensure that an efficient structure was used for the investment and that it would not later be challenged by the tax authorities. The firm also advised Spanish private equity house Torreal on its acquisition of logistics business Saba. The purchase was a joint investment with another private equity house and so the firm had to ensure that the tax issues were addressed for each party so they avoided any unnecessary tax liability. As their recent work suggests, the firm has a number of private equity houses as clients and also companies such as Marriott International, Foster Wheeler and financial institutions such as Banca March.

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Deloitte has expanded its Spanish tax practice with 93 professionals joining in the past year. The majority of these advisers have joined the firm's corporate tax and international tax service lines. The department now has 27 partners after promotions ... [more]

Deloitte has expanded its Spanish tax practice with 93 professionals joining in the past year. The majority of these advisers have joined the firm's corporate tax and international tax service lines. The department now has 27 partners after promotions and three external additions from major Spanish tax practices. Competitors note that the firm has improved its transfer pricing service line under Ignacio Longarte. One contemporary said that, "he has done well at Deloitte in developing their transfer pricing practice. He has done particularly well there." The work of the department, led by Luis Fernando Guerra, has this year included the sale and restructuring of some of the Spanish savings banks. The practice advised former savings bank Ibercaja on the tax implications of its conversion to a pure bank as it would have been unable to meet capital ratio requirements that the savings banks will be expected to satisfy. The firm is advising another Spanish savings bank on making the conversion and the tax issues which are involved. Partner Pablo Sanz coordinated the tax issues of the merger of the three Basque savings banks BBK, Kutxa and Vital. Other work this year saw David Gómez Aragón lead the team advising a Spanish infrastructure, construction and services group on the best structure to use in the construction of a gas storage facility on the Spanish sea floor and a gas pipeline connected to a land platform for customs and VAT purposes. The firm's clients include Spanish and international companies and financial institutions and it emphasises that their international network ensures clients a high quality of service in cross-border matters.

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Miguel Klingenberg is the head of the tax department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer which comprises three partners and six other fee earners. Much of the department's work is closely tied to the transactions handled by the firm's other practices and ... [more]

Miguel Klingenberg is the head of the tax department of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer which comprises three partners and six other fee earners. Much of the department's work is closely tied to the transactions handled by the firm's other practices and as such their transactional tax ability is noted by competitors. Their work this year has involved a significant amount of restructuring work for both financial sector companies and real estate investment funds. A team led by Miguel Lorán this year advised ING and Caja Madrid in the restructuring of the financing given to Apax for the acquisition of bakery group Panrico. This entailed substantial corporate restructuring and a partial waiver of the company's debt by the lenders. Under Spanish law, a debt waiver can be a taxable event and as such the firm had to pay close attention to the structures involved and methods used to waive the debt to ensure that it did not give rise to a tax liability. The team also advised a consortium of private equity investors including RREEF, Area and Europa Capital on the structuring of their investment in a portfolio of branches and buildings of BBVA in a sale and leaseback arrangement. The transaction began in 2009, but the second phase was only completed this year as some of the funds were reinvested in specific properties. Private equity houses from the UK, US and Germany were involved and as such the firm aligned the tax issues arising in each country to ensure the transaction was tax efficient.

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Maria José Aguilo is the head of the tax practice at KPMG. The department is completed by 35 other partners and 397 fee earners. The firm has added 12 partners and senior associates this year with Fernando Marcos, formerly of the tax authorities, a notable ... [more]

Maria José Aguilo is the head of the tax practice at KPMG. The department is completed by 35 other partners and 397 fee earners. The firm has added 12 partners and senior associates this year with Fernando Marcos, formerly of the tax authorities, a notable new partner. KPMG provides a full range of tax services but competitors recognise indirect tax and cross border structuring as particularly strong areas for the practice. Both Joaquim Herrera and Natalia Pastor are identified by peers for their ability in indirect tax and Victor Hernán is widely recommended by contemporaries for cross-border structuring. The firm recently advised Banco Santander on the best structure to use for its acquisition of a majority stake in Bank Zachodni WBK, a Polish bank, to ensure tax efficiency both during and after the transaction. Other work in the financial sector included handling tax due diligence and tax structuring of the acquisition by two Goldman Sachs managed funds of an 80% stake in Endesa Gas. The structure used two Dutch special purpose vehicles. The firm's expertise in the financial sector ensures that banks such as Goldman Sachs, Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya are among its clients as well as companies such as multinational utilities company Iberdrola and Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.

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Landwell is part of the PwC network and their tax practice provides advice on corporate income tax, international tax, transfer pricing, indirect taxes and specific regional taxes within Spain. The firm has a good reputation for its indirect tax work. ... [more]

Landwell is part of the PwC network and their tax practice provides advice on corporate income tax, international tax, transfer pricing, indirect taxes and specific regional taxes within Spain. The firm has a good reputation for its indirect tax work. Fellow tax advisers highlight Alberto Monreal for his ability in that area and note that he is especially good for VAT matters.

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The tax practice of Ashurst is led by Eduardo Gracia who is respected by his peers for his ability in transfer pricing. One of his contemporaries said that he is "A bright lawyer and his specialisation in transfer pricing is well regarded by everyone ... [more]

The tax practice of Ashurst is led by Eduardo Gracia who is respected by his peers for his ability in transfer pricing. One of his contemporaries said that he is "A bright lawyer and his specialisation in transfer pricing is well regarded by everyone in the tax market. He is simply very good." Gracia was reappointed to the EU Joint Transfer Pricing Forum this year, providing the firm with strong links to the latest developments in transfer pricing at a European level. Gracia this year handled Procter & Gamble's renewal of an advance pricing agreement after reassessment by the tax authorities. The Spanish authorities have adopted a hardline approach to transfer pricing and Gracia had to employ a highly technical method outlined in the arbitration convention and various tax treaties to resolve the problems they indentified with the group's APA. The firm has also been active in transactional tax matters. The firm advised TA Associates on their sale of travel agency E-Dreams. The seller's group is located in the US and as such the team had to coordinate the tax issues across the relevant jurisdictions and accommodate limitations on the transactions under Spanish and EU law that would not have applied in America.

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The Spanish tax practice of Clifford Chance handles a range of tax issues. Most of the department's work is associated with its real estate, corporate and banking departments' activity. Rivals note the quality of the firm's work in capital markets and ... [more]

The Spanish tax practice of Clifford Chance handles a range of tax issues. Most of the department's work is associated with its real estate, corporate and banking departments' activity. Rivals note the quality of the firm's work in capital markets and financial products and identify Jose Ignacio Jiménez-Blanco as highly competent in that area. Jiménez-Blanco also specialises in international tax, an area where the firm's ability is bolstered by the strength of its global network. The tax department is comprised of one other partner and three other fee earners.

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Federico Linares leads the tax department of Ernst & Young and is said by his competitors to be one of the best advisers in Spain for cross-border structuring and international tax. "He has done better than his competitors in the international tax practice," ... [more]

Federico Linares leads the tax department of Ernst & Young and is said by his competitors to be one of the best advisers in Spain for cross-border structuring and international tax. "He has done better than his competitors in the international tax practice," said one of his peers. The tax practice offers clients a full range of tax services. The firm has made six additions at senior associate and partner level this year and competitors note them to be more visible than in previous years. Most of the firm's work this year involved cross-border tax advice for Spanish companies investing abroad and multinationals investing in Spain. Examples include the initial public offering (IPO) of an international green energy company in Spain and the pre-sale restructuring of cargo and logistics company Swissport. The firm's other clients include Spanish oil company Repsol and telecommunications company Telefonica.

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Gómez-Acebo & Pombo's tax team supports thework of other departments such as corporate/M&A, banking and intellectual property (IP) and stand-alone tax work such as international tax planning and restructuring, tax litigation and indirect tax advice. ... [more]

Gómez-Acebo & Pombo's tax team supports thework of other departments such as corporate/M&A, banking and intellectual property (IP) and stand-alone tax work such as international tax planning and restructuring, tax litigation and indirect tax advice. The team led by Heribert Padrol has been particularly active this year in M&A. Notable transactions included advising Allianz on the Spanish tax implications of the €145 million ($206.9 million) acquisition of 60% of Europensiones, for which an earn out provision is an additional cost. The purchaser then made a contribution to its holding company Allianz-Popular through a share-for-share exchange. The team from the firm handled the tax issues throughout, ensuring that the structures employed achieved the most tax efficient result and compliance with the Spanish tax neutrality regime applicable to such contributions from subsidiaries to holding companies. The firm also handled the disposal of fashion chain BuyVip by a consortium of private equity houses, implementing a structure to minimise the capital gains arising and so the tax liability for the sellers. The team led by Javier Vinuesa also advised a commodities house on implementing an employee share scheme in Spain following on from the company's IPO ensuring that all the tax issues involved were effectively dealt with.

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Miguel Ángel Sánchez is the head of Hogan Lovells's Spanish tax department and is supported by four fee earners. The team handles a range of tax issues for clients including M&A, cross-border structuring, indirect tax and tax litigation. The department's ... [more]

Miguel Ángel Sánchez is the head of Hogan Lovells's Spanish tax department and is supported by four fee earners. The team handles a range of tax issues for clients including M&A, cross-border structuring, indirect tax and tax litigation. The department's clients reflect the breadth of its ability and includes Banco Pastor, Bankinter, ExxonMobil and Boluda Corporación Marítima. Banco Pastor sought the help of the firm's tax team when acting as arranger for the design and implementation of a tax leasing and tonnage structure to finance the acquisition of shipping vessels by the French charterer Technip and Dutch charterer Antwerp Port Authority. The team subsequently advised the companies on the refinancing of the deal after changes in the vessel's construction processes and a corresponding change in price. This involved careful treatment of the structures involved to provide efficient compliance in all jurisdictions concerned and ensure that indirect tax charges were minimised. The firm also advised a multinational oil company on the reorganisation of its international holding structure this year. The firm had to consider the tax issues different structures would present in the many countries the company is active and obtained several rulings from the tax authorities to gain clearance for the final structure implemented. Competitors comment that the firm has lately been more visibly active in tax matters than in previous years.

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Latham & Watkins has a well respected, if small, tax practice. One rival said of their practice: "We have the highest regard for the professionals there. They are capable of giving good quality advice but they are quite small." Jordi Dominguez chairs ... [more]

Latham & Watkins has a well respected, if small, tax practice. One rival said of their practice: "We have the highest regard for the professionals there. They are capable of giving good quality advice but they are quite small." Jordi Dominguez chairs the firm's tax department in Spain. The firm concentrates on transactional work and so handles a lot of M&A matters and related structuring issues. The firm generally and the tax department are focused on high value M&A work that very often has an international dimension. The firm has been engaged in several matters for clients in the energy sector this year. It recently handled the issue of senior notes by Abengoa in the US due for repayment in 2017. This was complicated by a change in the Spanish insolvency laws which would have meant the notes had a different ranking in the order of repayment on a winding up. Substantial restructuring was required to ensure that the notes maintained their original priority and in a tax efficient manner. The firm also advised a syndicate of banks including Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank in the provision of funding and a revolving debt facility to the Blackstone Group and N+1 Private Equity for their acquisition of Sofamen. The team had to create a structure for the funding which would ensure that the cross-border tax issues for the lenders were surmounted and the buyers received the funds in the most commercially expedient and tax efficient manner. [hide]

The tax department of Pérez-Llorca is led by former Ernst & Young adviser Javier Fernández Cuenca and tax litigation specialist Clara Jimenez. Jimenez has significant financial sector experience, having previously led the in-house tax team at Bankinter. ... [more]

The tax department of Pérez-Llorca is led by former Ernst & Young adviser Javier Fernández Cuenca and tax litigation specialist Clara Jimenez. Jimenez has significant financial sector experience, having previously led the in-house tax team at Bankinter. Fernández Cuenca focuses on M&A and cross-border structuring matters and he is well regarded by his peers for his work in both those areas. This year the firm has noted a significant increase in client demand for its litigation services. The firm has continued working for Alpha Tiger after its co-investment in the H20 shopping centre in Madrid. The firm advised on the tax consequences arising from the nil-cost call option agreed with co-investor Alpha Real Capital that gives the company the right to increase its stake in the development.

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Allen & Overy's Spanish tax practice is led by partner Carlos Albiñana who is assisted by counsel Enrique Lopez de Caballos. The firm focuses on corporate tax and M&A matters which Albiñana has substantial experience of. He is also capable in capital ... [more]

Allen & Overy's Spanish tax practice is led by partner Carlos Albiñana who is assisted by counsel Enrique Lopez de Caballos. The firm focuses on corporate tax and M&A matters which Albiñana has substantial experience of. He is also capable in capital markets and financial services, focusing on structured finance in particular. Lopez de Caballos provides advice on cross-border tax issues, as well as to high net worth individuals.

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DLA Piper's tax team is based in Madrid and is composed of one partner, department head Carlos Rodríguez Barrigüete, and three further fee earners. Much work for the department is generated as a result of M&A transactions undertaken by the corporate ... [more]

DLA Piper's tax team is based in Madrid and is composed of one partner, department head Carlos Rodríguez Barrigüete, and three further fee earners. Much work for the department is generated as a result of M&A transactions undertaken by the corporate department of the firm. This year Miguel Baz and Rodrigo Gastalver advised Ibersuizas in its purchase of Grupo Multiasistencia, organising the structure of the deal to make the process tax efficient. Advice on structuring was also essential to Sun Capital Partners' acquisition of Famosa. The target company had significant debt on its balance sheet which could have had an impact on the tax liabilities of Sun Capital. As usual in private equity transactions, it was also essential to structure the deal to ensure any tax on capital gains arising from the fund's exit is minimised. The firm also has capabilities in transfer pricing and indirect tax, being specialist areas of Baz and Rodriguez Barrigüete respectively.

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The Spanish tax team of Linklaters is led by Javier Garcia-Pita who is the sole partner of the practice. Garcia-Pita is renowned for his ability in M&A matters. One of his peers remarks: "He is a very brilliant tax lawyer with a team who are strong in ... [more]

The Spanish tax team of Linklaters is led by Javier Garcia-Pita who is the sole partner of the practice. Garcia-Pita is renowned for his ability in M&A matters. One of his peers remarks: "He is a very brilliant tax lawyer with a team who are strong in private equity, corporate and M&A." The firm has four fee earners in addition to Garcia-Pita. A good example of the firm's M&A and private equity expertise was the acquisition of eDreams by a group of funds managed by the Permira group. The firm then managed the new entity's subsequent acquisition of two further travel groups as part of a joint venture with the Axa Private Equity company GoVoyages. Throughout, the firm had to handle a variety of tax issues including the structure to be used for the joint venture and a tax-efficient remuneration and incentives scheme for the management team of eDreams.

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Under tax department leader Lourdes Pérez-Luque at Salans are a further six fee earners. The team has consolidated its reputation for tax work in Spain, acting for both Spanish and multinational companies in media, energy, retail, real estate and pharmaceuticals ... [more]

Under tax department leader Lourdes Pérez-Luque at Salans are a further six fee earners. The team has consolidated its reputation for tax work in Spain, acting for both Spanish and multinational companies in media, energy, retail, real estate and pharmaceuticals in particular. The team's work this year has involved advising one of the largest private healthcare providers in Spain on structuring to minimise tax liability in both Spain and internationally. Pérez-Luque also advised an energy company on the tax implications of its supply agreements and balancing and hedging agreements. She is building a good reputation in the Spanish tax market as competitors have noted her presence in the market this year.

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The Spanish tax practice of Simmons & Simmons is a new addition to the rankings for 2012. The tax department led by Juan Sosa Pons-Sorolla is similar to the firm's tax departments in other countries in its financial services focus. Several hedge funds ... [more]

The Spanish tax practice of Simmons & Simmons is a new addition to the rankings for 2012. The tax department led by Juan Sosa Pons-Sorolla is similar to the firm's tax departments in other countries in its financial services focus. Several hedge funds in Spain rely on the firm for their tax advice, as do Värde Partners, Barclays and Global Sales Solutions. The firm's strength in financial services sector tax is illustrated in their role in Värde Partners' investment in distressed debt and real estate portfolios in Spain. The firm implemented an offshore/onshore structure to ensure sufficient flexibility in the structure to allow for joint ventures with local partners to service the debt of specific investments as necessary, and tax efficient investments in a variety of assets. The firm also provided Global Sales Solutions advice on its service agreement with a major South American Technology, Media and Telecommunications body ensuring that there were no tax complications due to the cross border element of the agreement.

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