Legal dispute over Arbres del Tarter development stalls buyer completions

A legal dispute between investor companies and the delegated promoter of the high-end Arbres del Tarter development is preventing several buyers from completing their purchases and is unfolding in both Andorra and Spain. The development has been finished since the start of the year, but at least a dozen prospective buyers or tenants who paid substantial deposits — in some cases reportedly into the millions — cannot sign final deeds.

According to a complaint filed with Spain’s National Court that was later dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, a Spanish investment company based in San Sebastián de los Reyes took an interest in two residential projects in El Tarter. The investors are said to have formed an Andorran company to own what is now Arbres del Tarter and to have reached an agreement with another Andorran company, owned by a different Spanish national, to act as the delegated promoter responsible for marketing and sales.

The complaint claims that the investor company would supply most of the funds — it reportedly seeks roughly €31 million for Arbres del Tarter and another €15 million for a separate Tarter project still under construction — while the delegated promoter would contribute a smaller share of construction financing and assume all marketing, advertising and sales costs. Powers were granted to the delegated promoter to negotiate sales on the investor’s behalf.

When several units had been sold with large advance payments and a declaration of new construction had been registered, the investor company revoked the powers previously granted to the delegated promoter. That revocation left the notarisation of purchase deeds in limbo and disrupted the procedures before the notaries chosen to formalise the transactions.

In response, the delegated promoter applied to the Andorran judicial authority for provisional measures to prevent the owner from re-marketing or selling units that had already been committed to buyers. Meanwhile, the investor company has relied on its complaint in Spain — which alleged disloyal administration, fraud and other wrongdoing — as part of its strategy to counter civil actions underway in Andorra.

At present, the legal actions appear to be largely civil in nature, but sources indicate that criminal proceedings cannot be ruled out, since some of the alleged movements could constitute offences. The Spanish complaint referenced additional operations, including a Marbella project that reportedly did not succeed.

The ongoing dispute has created significant uncertainty for affected purchasers. Some have already taken possession of units but remain unable to complete their purchase deeds, while others have not recovered deposits and cannot finalise the transactions they intended. The cross-border nature of the litigation and the revocation of powers have left the outcome and the fate of the pending sales unresolved.