Real Estate Finance

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

Defending complex enforcement action

Acting for a property construction and development company facing enforcement action over two loans totalling approximately £3.9m, secured by property and subject to multiple assignments. In response to the lender’s actions, we challenged the loans on various grounds, including regulatory compliance under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, asserting that they constitute unfair relationships under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and disputing the validity of receiver appointments and default interest provisions, arguing that they are unenforceable as a penalty.

Construction and Engineering

High value enforcement action

Representing an offshore lender involved in a joint loan of approximately £12m to two companies for land development in the North West of England, secured by legal charges and personal guarantees. After the companies defaulted, we assisted in various enforcement actions, including appointing receivers, and addressing issues with UN1 registrations from potential buyers. We are currently pursuing the directors under their personal guarantees to mitigate a substantial shortfall of over £6m for the lender.

Banking and Finance

Loan restructure to safeguard client’s commercial stability

We were involved in renegotiating and extending significant loan and revolving credit facilities on behalf of our client, a well-known plc. Our team acted quickly to ensure the new financing arrangements could be assessed by the company auditors prior to signing off annual accounts. Meeting the tight timeframe ensured the client had uninterrupted access to funding and avoided any threat to the financial stability of the business.

Banking and Finance

Real estate advice for holiday properties

Provided real estate advice to a number of hotels and holiday cottages that were successfully sold as going concerns. This included acquisition of land for a forest park and the acquisition of a camping, glamping and farm park business.

Commercial Real Estate