Commercial and residential developments of any size, although complex in many ways, actually follow a fairly simple pattern when it comes to the legal structure.
Whatever your project and whether you’re looking at Greenfield, Brownfield or inner city regeneration sites there are a series of basic questions every developer should be asking themselves:
- Have I got planning permission for what I want to develop?
- How am I going to build my development?
- Can I afford to build the project?
- Have I secured a tenant?
- How will you sell on your investment?
Although planning permission is the starting point for any development project, building your professional team can be the most important and indeed the most challenging aspect of the job. As well as building contractors, architects and engineers, it is also likely you will need warranties and design sub-contractors. Our experienced team of property lawyers have over 30 years’ experience of drafting bespoke building and appointment contracts that are both client and project specific, ensuring peace of mind for all clients that they are protected throughout the process.
Funding is a key part of any project and there are a multitude of options to support your growth. Regardless of the route you choose to go down it is really important to ensure that your construction documents are institutionally acceptable and are ready for assessment by any bank or alternative funder. By making sure that your documents are in order early in the process, you will save time when it comes to securing funding which will help you get on site quicker.
Once you’re on-site and building your project you will be starting to think about letting your development to a tenant. It is important that you secure your agreement for lease and lease early and that you establish a strong working relationship from the start. As a landlord, you may also need to think about issues such as operating a specific service charge or rent review mechanism or to understand your options where a tenant has made a request to assign or underlet its leasehold interest.
If the ultimate goal is to sell on your development, have you got a plan in place? Our team can support you in collating and preparing the relevant documents to help make this process as simple and as smooth as possible.
Our property team has been involved in development projects across the country and in sectors as diverse as office, industrial and manufacturing, retail, leisure and hospitality, health, energy and residential house building. We advise national developers on major urban regeneration schemes, mixed-use schemes and brownfield sites, through to individual developers carrying out bespoke one-off projects. Whatever the size and complexity of your project, we can assist you at every stage as an integral part of your team, whether it be from discussing initial ideas and helping you to identify a site, through to site assembly and planning, funding, construction, pre-lets, forward sales and estate management.
We also work closely with colleagues in our construction, planning and corporate teams to provide you with whatever level of support you require and will always ensure that our advice is commercial, relevant and tailored for your project.
