Fernando Shum

Director

Profile

Fernando Shum is Director of BLP in the San José, Costa Rica office. He specializes in Real Estate & Hospitality. In his more than 12 years of experience, he has advised on the development, structuring, financing and sale of real estate projects in coastal and urban areas of Costa Rica. Likewise, he has extensive experience carrying out property title studies, incorporation of condominiums and urban planning. Fernando joined the BLP team as a paralegal in 2003. In 2004 he became an Associate before temporarily separating from the firm in 2010 to assume the position of Deputy Legal Manager of the Growth Unit for Central America at Walmart. He re-joined BLP in 2011.

  • Real Estate & Hospitality

Education 

  • Law degree, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica. 

Languages 

  • Spanish 
  • English 

  • Costa Rican Bar Association 
  • International Bar Association: Member

  • BLP advised CMI on the acquisition of Corporación AUG in Costa Rica. This sweeping transaction involved a series of critical stages and a diverse group of sellers, marking a significant milestone for CMI in the country following the devastating fire at its plant in early 2023.
  • Global life science ingredients distributor Acquires DIVSA in Central America. BLP advised Barentz International on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Distribuciones Industriales Variadas, S.A. (DIVSA) in a significant transaction involving eight jurisdictions (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, Panama, and Mexico).
  • Cementos Progreso is expanding its presence in Central America. BLP has advised Cementos Progreso Holdings, S.L. on the $335 million acquisition of assets from Cemex, S.A.B of C.V. in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The acquisition includes a cement plant, a cement mill, various ready-mix concrete plants, an aggregates quarry, and distribution centers in Costa Rica and El Salvador. The transaction bolsters Cementos Progreso’s expansion in Central America, consolidating operations in seven countries.
  • Las Catalinas is a high-end master-planned new-urbanism beachfront development in Guanacaste. BLP monitors all legal aspects of the development of Las Catalinas, a 1000-acre beach community that has created a car-free walkable town composed of houses, shops, restaurants, small hotels and inns, pedestrian streets, plazas, parks, and recreational facilities. There are currently two boutique hotels in the project and several development sites.
  • Guanacaste Development Group launches its second coastal real estate project. The client is developing a second coastal real estate project in Costa Rica, a Mixed-Use Real Estate Master Project named Costa Elena with high-end hotels, villas, and lots. For the development of the Project, BLP advised its client on the restructuring of its real estate investments (over 1,000 ha.) per a corporate reorganization and the constitution of the master condominium and the first phase of sub-condominiums, as well as the formulation of the sales packages and contracts for the first phase.
  • Developers 506 seeks to develop an ambitious gated community on the beach. Advising Developers 506, a major local green developer on an ambitious Beach Gated Community (MISTICO) concept on 110 hectares of titled beachfront property in Central Pacific Hermosa Beach.
  • Acquisition of WeWork by Grupo Garnier. BLP advised the client throughout the process, including due diligence, drafting the SPA, reviewing and negotiating lease agreements, and closing the transaction. BLP advises Grupo Garnier on day-to-day operations, including tax and labor law matters.