With significant experience in acting for both land owners and developers, we can advise on the commercial structuring of acquisitions and disposals including the intricacies of the planning system and the requirements of funders. Our client base includes both commercial and residential developers, all of whom are active in the market.
Our investment practice advises on UK wide real estate investment opportunities including hotels and leisure, office space, retail and commercial. We provide clients with strategic commercial advice within the context of each deal.
We advise a range of clients on general asset management issues including acquisitions, disposals and landlord and tenant issues. With the support of our property litigation team we provide timely proactive advice that best protects our clients’ interests.
We have extensive experience of real state secured lending both for investment and development purposes. We act for both borrowers and lenders and know how best to structure deals in a way that achieves the aims of both parties.
We act for developers and investors in a variety of infrastructure projects including renewable energy, housing and hotels/leisure providing land assembly support, dealing with environmental issues, including consenting, and strategic planning advice.
We can guide you through the myriad of environmental legislation to ensure compliance and best practice. We advise on environmental liabilities and risks for both real estate and corporate transactions and strategies to minimise these risks and have expertise in advising on regulatory matters for our clients. Areas we advise upon include:
We do not normally offer this service and where we do, on the rare occasion take on this work, it is normally for ultra-high value properties. There are two main elements to the legal costs of completing a sale and purchase: our charges; and expenses we must pay out of your behalf.
We have a minimum fee of £5,000 (plus VAT and expenses) for either a sale or a purchase.
By way of example, for a freehold purchase of a £10 million property with a mortgage, the charges typically range from £20,000 – £30,000 (plus VAT and expenses).
For the same purchase price and using the same example as above of the £2 million property, our charges for a leasehold purchase will be from £25,000 – £35,000 (plus VAT and expenses).
Our hourly rates vary depending on who in the firm is involved in your matter. This can range from £200 (plus VAT) for a paralegal – £800 (plus VAT) for a partner.
Please note that these are our average charges, therefore please do get in touch with details of your own transaction so that we can provide you with a bespoke fee estimate.
The exact cost depends on the specific circumstances of your case. The above range of costs is based on the following factors:
We would usually expect to incur certain expenses on your behalf which we will also add to your bill. The amount of expenses can vary and the following is an estimate only:
Expense | Estimated amount | VAT chargeable |
HM Land Registry fee | £40 – £910 | No |
Search fees | £500 – £750 | Yes |
Electronic money transfer fee | £75 | Yes |
This will be payable in addition to the expenses above and depends on the value of the property. There are many permutations in calculating the duty payable based on each individual circumstance. You can calculate the amount payable using the online calculator on HMRC’s website – https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-stamp-duty-land-tax/#/intro.
HMRC guidance relating to SDLT for properties in England is available here – https://www.gov.uk/topic/business-tax/stamp-taxes.
There are different rules for a corporate body purchasing residential property for more than £500,000 – https://www.gov.uk/guidance/stamp-duty-land-tax-corporate-bodies.
If the property is located in Wales, additional guidance from the Welsh Revenue Authority is available here – https://beta.gov.wales/welsh-revenue-authority.
Please note that the above links are for guidance only and you should take specific advice from a tax specialist. Such advice would fall outside the scope of our acting on your purchase but we do have specialists who could advise in this respect, if required.
On leasehold property purchases, you should also be aware the ground rent and service charge are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and anticipated service charge as soon as we receive this information. We will provide an accurate figure once we have seen the relevant documentation for the property.
The above fee cost ranges includes the key stages of a property purchase:
They specifically do not include (please note that this list is not exhaustive):
How long it will take from your offer being accepted until completion of the purchase will depend on a number of factors. On occasions where the matter is urgent, this can sometimes be completed within a day or two. The timescale may vary depending on the parties in the chain; sometimes it can take several months, however the average process takes between six to eight weeks. If any complications of any nature arise the matter may take longer. We will advise you if and when this occurs.
Our team has experience in delivering high quality work relating to the sale and purchase of ultra-high end residential property.