Property Platform

Planning and acquisition of property

The success of any real estate project depends on getting the planning stage right. Our specialist lawyers and surveyors provide proactive advice through the lifespan of any scheme in planning development projects. 

Whether it is advising on the tax advantages of acquiring assets within a corporate vehicle, helping promoters secure consent for infrastructure development schemes, advising on Compulsory Purchase Orders for housing and regeneration projects, or utilising a Geographical Information System to inform client decision making, our professionals are market leaders in advising on planning issues from both a legal and property perspective.

Development of property and built assets

The real estate landscape presents significant challenges, but there are also great opportunities to be found. Our specialist advisers provide strategic guidance to clients throughout their developments, often acting as an integral part of their team and advising on the entire spectrum of property, construction and engineering work.

Our combination of lawyers alongside surveyors, project managers and tax consultants, means that we are able to provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ for all your construction and property needs. Our experts advise on all aspects of real estate development and construction, handling legal requirements from start to finish for any project. Acting on a wide range of industrial, retail, leisure, office and mixed use development projects, we work for both national and regional commercial developers. We also specialise in supporting on residential development projects, advising housebuilders of all sizes, land promoters, regeneration specialists and large-scale registered providers. 

Our property clients benefit from the wealth of complementary property development expertise across the Group, including land referencing and property research, boundary and party wall advice, and telecoms and utilities infrastructure. 

Managing property and property

Construction projects are complex, fast-paced and unique, with different stakeholders, priorities and goals. We help our clients make sure their projects run smoothly from start to finish. We seek to establish, prioritise and deliver on project goals and commercial objectives. 

Proactive management of real estate assets is crucial in order to realise value and meet commercial objectives and our team works with some of the largest landlords and investors in the UK to successfully manage their real estate portfolios. We also act for business occupiers of real estate throughout the UK across all asset types, helping to ensure their property arrangements are robust and their property obligations are met. 

Our large specialist team provides expert advice on all aspects of property acquisition, ownership, occupation, and disposal, including across a range of fire safety and cladding issues, which have had a significant impact on the property sector since the Grenfell Tower tragedy. 

And if things go wrong, we are there to support. Construction and real estate disputes can be costly and their successful resolution is crucial to completing projects on time and to budget. We are experts in all forms of dispute resolution including litigation and alternative dispute resolution methods. We bring and defend claims in all types of construction, engineering, and real estate disputes, while our reporting and expert witness services have extensive experience in delivering both written and oral evidence in pre-action advice in an effort to avoid formal contentious construction proceedings. 

Financial matters and monetising property

Real estate finance is a complicated area. Our experts are able to work with banks, financiers and borrowers to find pragmatic solutions that meet the needs of their businesses.

For the success of any construction project, you need to have accurate cost information, communicated clearly in a straight-talking way. Ineffective cost management can easily lead to spiralling construction costs which could jeopardise the return on investment of the whole project. Our expert team advise on construction cost management throughout a project, from inception all the way through to practical completion and beyond. 

As well as advising on funding real estate projects, we are skilled at helping clients respond quickly to real estate investment opportunities, ensuring returns are maximised while all legal and governance requirements are properly met. 

Our tax specialists are able to maximise returns on construction projects, including via tax depreciation analysis to identify those parts of construction projects that attract depreciation at accelerated rates for companies investing in properties outside of the UK.