The publication of this book was made possible thanks to the support of Alessandro P. Scarso. Our thanks to Alessandro not only for his valuable operational support, but above all for believing in the project right from the outset. Alessandro's coordination of the country reports described in Part Two enabled an international comparative approach to be pursued. Our sincere thanks also go to all the authors and respective law firms that submitted the country reports in Part Two (in alphabetical order of the respective jurisdiction): Taylor Wessing (Shanghai, Nabarro LLP – London), Patrick Ehret and Sandra Inglese (Schulze & Braun – Paris/Strasbourg), Christoph Keller (PLUTA Rechtsanwalts-GmbH – Munich), Pragati Aneja, Nihit Nagpal, Puneet Dhawan, Mayank Kumar, and Amitabha Sen (Amitabha Sen & Co – New Delhi), Alessandro P. Scarso (Studio Legale PLUTA GmbH – Milan), Joaquim Sarrate (PLUTA Abogados y Administradores Concursales SLP – Barcelona). As a result of their thorough analysis and first-hand experience of real estate finance in their legal systems, they have ensured that the book will be relevant and usable in many countries throughout the world.

Special thanks are also due to Paolo Benedetto (SDA Bocconi and Europrogetti & Finanza), a dynamic academic and real estate professional who has worked alongside the authors for a number of years. Our gratitude to him not only for his contribution to the book, but also for his sterling work as project manager and his on-going and scrupulous review of the entire book, as well as his unfailing and indispensable help throughout all stages of the project.

We are also most grateful to Federico Chiavazza (SDA Bocconi & Avalon Real Estate), Andrea Artegiani (MSc Bocconi University), and Michele Monterosso (ING Commercial Banking) for their support.

Important operational assistance was provided by Thomas Roberts, who translated parts of the book from Italian to English and who supported us during the language review stage.

Last but not least, we owe profound thanks to PLUTA-Rechtsanwalts-GmbH, Studio Legale PLUTA GmbH, and PLUTA Abogados y Administradores concursales SLP for their generous financial support.

Naturally, responsibility for all errors lies solely with the authors.

Giacomo Morri, Antonio Mazza

The authors would like to express their profound gratitude to PLUTA Rechtsanwalts-GmbH, Studio Legale PLUTA GmbH, and PLUTA Abogados y Administradores Concursales SLP (collectively PLUTA) for their advisory and friendly support of the publication.