Photo, Dr. Benjamin Pirlet

Dr. Benjamin Pirlet

Counsel
Baker McKenzie BV/SRL

Biography

Dr. Benjamin Pirlet is a counsel in the Real Estate and Construction Practice Group in the Brussels office.

Practice Focus

Benjamin primarily advises Belgian and foreign clients on real estate and related tax matters. He has over in 10 years of experience in all aspects of real estate matters, including corporate, tax and public law.

He primarily focuses on real estate transactions and development projects, as well as their tax structuring. He has advised on some of the most important real estate transactions of the last years in Belgium, including CityForward, the Finance Tower, North Galaxy, the IT Tower and the Blue Tower.

As an associate Professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Solvay and Law faculty) and researcher at Université de Liège (Tax Institute), he is a regular speaker at real estate conferences and teaches and publishes regularly in the fields of real estate and tax law.

Representative Legal Matters

  • Acting for major national and international clients, including pension funds, insurance companies, investment funds such as SCPIs, developers, listed real estate investment companies, international asset managers, public actors and financial institutions.
  • Acted on landmark real estate transactions in Belgium, including Cityforward, IT Tower, Blue Tower, Mobius Towers, former AXA headquarters and North Galaxy Towers. 
  • Acted on several major sale-and-lease back transaction, including the restructuring of sale-and-lease-back transactions pertaining to more than 10 assets in the health care sector in Belgium.
  • Acted on several major transactions with the public authorities, including in relation to Antwerp port, Brussels airport and industrial sites in Liège.
  • Acted on landlord restate development projects in Belgium, including The One, De Brouckère and PwC Campus.

Professional Honors

  • Rising Star, Legal 500, 2023
  • Médaille David Constant, First of promotion, 2015 (Fondation Roi Baudoin)

Admissions

  • Brussels~Belgium (2018)

Education

  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (PhD on the Transfer of Real Estate Contracts) (2023)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (Advanced Master’s Degree in Tax) (2018)
  • University of Liège (Master's Degree in Law, summa cum laude) (2015)
  • Coventry University (Erasmus Program) (2014)

Languages

  • Dutch
  • English
  • French
  • Co-author, Nouveau droit des biens: jusqu'où iras-tu, composante inhérente?, J.T., 2023/28, n° 6950.
  • Author, "De la copropriété à la propriété en volume: évolution des outils", Jurim Pratique, Larcier, 1 May 2023
  • Co-author, "La liquidation et les droits réels in La liquidation et la dissolution des sociétés", Anthemis, December 2022
  • Co-author, "Les droits réels et la liquidation, in La liquidation et la dissolution des sociétés", Anthemis, 2022
  • Author, "Les servitudes de réseau et parkings - Aspects civils et fiscaux", Jurim Pratique, Larcier, 2022
  • Co-author, "Le contrat et les tiers, in Le nouveau droit des obligations (dir. P. Wéry et B. Kohl)", Anthemis, 2022