Dmytro Nikolov

Dmytro Nikolov is a Partner at Averites and a lawyer qualified as a Solicitor of England & Wales and Advocate of Ukraine. He advises domestic and international clients on corporate transactions, real estate and construction, infrastructure and energy projects, investments and complex commercial disputes.

Dmytro has substantial experience advising investors, developers, contractors and businesses on major projects and transactions in Ukraine. His work includes acquisitions and disposals of significant real estate assets, construction and development projects, infrastructure investments, renewable energy projects, corporate and investment structures and related regulatory matters.

His contentious practice includes complex commercial litigation and international arbitration. Dmytro has represented clients in disputes arising from construction, commercial contracts and investment arrangements, including proceedings involving English law and international arbitration. His experience spans both the transactional and disputes sides of major projects, allowing him to advise on contractual structures with a clear understanding of the risks that can arise during implementation.

Dmytro holds an LL.M. in International Business Law from Queen Mary University of London and is a Chevening Scholar. He also holds law degrees from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

He is recognised by The Legal 500 EMEA as a key lawyer in Real Estate & Construction and Energy and has been named among Ukraine’s Top 10 Most Promising Young Lawyers.

• England & Wales
• Ukraine

• Queen Mary University of London, LL.M. in International Business Law, Chevening Scholar
• Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

The Legal 500 EMEA

• Real Estate & Construction
• Energy

Recognition

• Top 10 Most Promising Young Lawyers in Ukraine

Professional Memberships & Credentials

• Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales / 2024
• Chevening Scholar / 2022–2023
• Advocate (Attorney-at-Law), Ukraine / 2021

Investment and Commercial Arbitration and Litigation

• Confidential LMAA arbitration (US$6m) – Acting as lead counsel for a Hong Kong maritime company in an LMAA arbitration arising from the non-performance of a vessel sale agreement and involving issues of constructive trust under English law. Secured an award in the client’s favour, obtained permission from the High Court of Justice in London to enforce the award, and pursued enforcement proceedings in Seychelles.
• Confidential loan-default dispute (US$25m) – Advised a Turkish hotel group on force majeure issues arising from a loan-default dispute, including the application of English authorities concerning force majeure in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and war, with a view to mitigating the client’s exposure.
• Sinohydro road-construction disputes – Acting for Sinohydro at the pre-action stage of disputes with Ukravtodor arising from the performance of road-construction contracts in Ukraine and involving complex issues of contractual non-performance.
• Gas extraction licence dispute – Acted for one of Ukraine’s largest gas producers in a high-profile dispute concerning the suspension of its extraction licence. The case involved the unusual cancellation of the licence following the reversal of enforcement of a judgment and required detailed submissions on the scope and limits of that procedural mechanism.
• Ukrnafta fuel-card claims (US$125m+) – Acted for Ukrnafta in a series of claims concerning fuel cards, worth billions of hryvnias in aggregate, which had been issued but not honoured. The claims were admitted in full in the counterparty’s bankruptcy proceedings.
• Ukrnafta oil and gas disputes (total US$75m+) – Acted for Ukrnafta in a series of oil and gas contractual disputes involving non-performance and challenges to sham transactions, recovering hundreds of millions of hryvnias.
• Shell fuel-station closure proceedings – Acted for Shell in six concurrent disputes with the State Emergency Service concerning the closure of fuel stations and involving complex issues of public law and technical safety regulation.
• Tehnova competition proceedings – Advised Tehnova LLC in a series of competition-law proceedings, including the so-called “tariff” and “coal-price” cases, involving economic analysis, expert evidence and comparative research into EU competition law and practice.
• Merx Group real-estate dispute (US$50m+) – Acted as lead counsel for Merx Group in a dispute concerning real estate valued at more than US$50 million, securing what was understood to be the first application of the principle of estoppel in Ukrainian litigation concerning real estate sold through Deposit Guarantee Fund auctions.
• Colliers International commission dispute – Acted for Colliers International in a commission dispute with Respublika Shopping Mall, litigated through all instances to the Supreme Court, concerning entitlement to and calculation of agency and brokerage commission and the enforceability of the underlying engagement terms.
• Agricultural infrastructure proceedings (Supreme Court) – Acted for a major agricultural producer in proceedings against the State Architectural and Building Inspection concerning the commissioning of a grain elevator in the Kirovohrad region, securing a favourable outcome before the Supreme Court.

Real Estate and Construction

• London premises acquisition – Advised State Enterprise “Document” on securing commercial premises in London in connection with the establishment of its UK operations.
• Major Kyiv commercial real-estate acquisitions (total US$100m+) – Advised Merx Group on the acquisition at auction of major commercial real-estate assets in central Kyiv, including four business centres acquired from the Deposit Guarantee Fund, among them the former VTB Bank head office at Pushkinska Street / Shevchenko Boulevard, and the landmark Ermitazh Hotel.
• Horizon Park acquisition – Advised Dragon Capital on its acquisition of Horizon Park Business Center in Kyiv, the city’s largest business park, comprising approximately 69,000 sq m of Class A and B office space.
• Kapitanivka biogas project (US$30m+) – Advised I&U Group on the development of Ukraine’s largest biogas plant at Kapitanivka, including land matters, energy-sector licensing and commissioning, as well as the recovery of damages arising from defective equipment supplied by a Dutch manufacturer.
• Mykolaiv wind-farm development – Advised a foreign investor on the development of one of Ukraine’s largest wind farms in the Mykolaiv region, including land-plot consolidation, changes of designated land use and preparation of local urban-planning documentation.
• Land and commissioning advice – Advised British American Tobacco on land-law and regulatory matters affecting operational continuity, including changes to the designated purpose of a land plot and commissioning of the relevant facility.
• Cultural heritage and planning advice – Advised Merx Group on compliance with UNESCO requirements, cultural-heritage restrictions and planning rules applicable to developments in Kyiv and the Kyiv region.
• Wartime commercial lease portfolio – Advised Watsons on a portfolio of commercial-lease matters, including premises located close to the frontline, addressing force majeure and wartime-risk allocation, rent suspension and abatement, access and safety, termination rights and continuity of tenure during active hostilities.
• Agrarian lease reform – Advised the EBRD on proposed legislative amendments supporting reform of Ukrainian agricultural lease rights.

Corporate and M&A

• Agricultural M&A transactions – Advised I&U Group on several acquisitions of agricultural businesses with land banks comprising tens of thousands of hectares, including multi-week on-site due diligence, verification and systematisation of thousands of land-lease agreements, preparation of an interactive land-plot map, and drafting of the SPA and shareholders’ agreements governed by English law.
• Cross-border acquisition and corporate-control dispute – Advised a major Ukrainian agricultural holding with a land bank of tens of thousands of hectares throughout the lifecycle of a cross-border corporate-control matter, from structuring and implementing the acquisition through to subsequent bankruptcy and control disputes.
• Cross-border corporate structuring – Advised clients ranging from AI start-ups to major investment holdings on cross-border corporate structuring, including the establishment of entities in the UAE, BVI, Cyprus and the Cayman Islands, and the international structuring of a major Ukrainian holding.