House Building
Working closely with our planning lawyers and in-house planning consultancy we advise on site acquisition, development agreements and site disposal as well as on infrastructure projects, planning and environmental issues, construction and development agreements and plot disposal.
Our focus is you
Our work for house builders forms a key part of our real estate offering. Our real estate lawyers work alongside our dedicated planning practice, comprising both planning lawyers and town planners, to provide a genuine full service team. We are members of the House Builders Federation and our comprehensive understanding of the issues facing the house building industry enables us to closely align our legal support to our client’s commercial goals.
We understand that timing is crucial for house builders and the ability to conclude deals quickly and efficiently is paramount. We take joint ownership of the project, working closely with our clients to maximise land values and speed up the development process; from site acquisition to plot disposal, and everything in between, our team can support the full development life cycle. Our clients also benefit from highly specialist advice from our dedicated utilities team who solely deal with connections agreements with utility providers. We understand that a delay in your site “going live” can cause significant timing and financial issues.
We provide clear and pragmatic advice to a range of clients from Housing Associations and others operating in the Registered Providers arena, to individual landowners and small, medium and large house builders.
Our specialist areas include:
- Site acquisition, development agreements and site disposal
- Chartered planning consultancy
- Planning and environmental law
- Infrastructure
- Construction/Development Agreements
- Plot Disposal
- Dispute Resolution
Our commercial real estate solicitors have offices in London and across the South East including Gatwick and Crawley, Hassocks, Horsham, Brighton and Guildford.
Please note that visits to our office is by appointment only. If you wish to contact one of our house building experts you can do via our online enquiry form.
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Meet the real estate team
Recent work
Sectors
Acquisition
Acquisition of commercial investment
Acting on the acquisition of a substantial commercial investment, comprising three commercial units at ground floor, with the upper residential parts sold off on a long lease.
Commercial Real Estate
Promotion agreement for delivery of 30 new homes
Advising on the promotion agreement for the development of land in East Sussex for the delivery of around 30 new homes. The transaction required a problem-solving approach to address constraints caused by the need to construct a new drainage system on third party land, the existence of telecommunications masts and apparatus, and the existence of an adopted water main running through the site.
Development and Regeneration
Acquisitions and commercial leases
Large property portfolio
Advising the trustees of a charity in relation to the considerable property portfolio held, which includes over 60 units of commercial and residential property (valued at approximately £30m+).
Commercial Real Estate
Acquisition
Acquisition of a Grade A office space
Acting on the acquisition of a high value lease of Grade A office space in Brighton. The transaction was challenging as the lease terms and tenant works were heavily negotiated throughout and there were various title issues that required complex indemnity insurance products to resolve.
Commercial Real Estate
Merger
Hospice merger
Supported on the merger of two hospices creating a combined group of three hospices and a charity shop network of over 30 retails units and distribution centres. The work included complex due diligence and exit arrangements from the substantial temporary premises in use prior to the merger.
Commercial Real Estate
Residential redevelopment
Advising on the unconditional purchase of a redundant children’s care home for residential redevelopment. The team negotiated a bespoke transaction structure to address issues caused by a protected species being identified on the site at the very last minute.
Housebuilding
Lease advice
Ensuring a charity’s standard lease was both simple, given the nature of the lettings it would be used for, and fit for securing its purpose, including business rates mitigation.
Commercial Real Estate
Freehold premises acquisition
Advising on the acquisition of freehold premises intended for use as preschool and kindergarten facilities, incorporating overage provisions for the benefit of the seller.
Commercial Real Estate
College property development
Supporting a large South East college on a major development project.
Development and Regeneration
Extensive property holdings
Acting for a Diocese in relation to its extensive property holdings, including drawing up conditional contracts for development sites, some of which have a provision for payment of overage.
News and insights
Insights
An overview of the environmental regulator’s approach to the enforcement and prosecution of environmental offences which outlines the potential penalties and other implications for a businesses who breaches environmental legislation
25/02/2015
