The corporate and commercial team are engaging, proactive and approachable and work collaboratively and in a one team manner
Our award-winning team combines all the skills you’ll need and has worked on some of the most significant real estate transactions in the North. We handle the property requirements of business and organisations across the UK. This includes the operational property requirements of national retail chains, manufacturers, businesses, house builders, industrial and office sector developers. We have significant experience acting for retail and consumer goods providers.
And if you’re an investor focused on acquiring property in the sector, our team of 50 specialist lawyers have the strength and depth to tackle any project, development or issue.
Whether it is office, industrial, leisure, energy, renewables, retail or development, our mix of specialist property, construction, tax, regulatory and property litigation lawyers together with our planners, provide fully integrated property expertise to maximise opportunities. Our experts ensure your project is fully and comprehensively supported from the outset for all key stages, through to completion.
Whatever your needs, rest assured you’re in safe hands, helping you leverage the most from your assets, with clear and comprehensive advice.
Work we have done
Property
- Acting for a manufacturing client on the acquisition of land and the development of a storage and assembly facility at the International Advanced manufacturing Park. The matter involved carrying out title due diligence and advising on the title, negotiation of a contract for sale and lease of the property, negotiation of a development agreement with the developer and negotiation of a suite of construction warranties and amendments to a building contract
- Acting for a well-known national supermarket for over 25 years. During this time we have acted on the acquisition of 50+ sites for new stores, both on a freehold and leasehold basis along with the provision of planning and construction advice. We also advise our client on a wide range of property management issues in connection with its existing portfolio and its programme of extensions to its existing stores and store car parks. In acting for this client we place great importance on understanding the specific requirements of their business and the retail sector as well as working seamlessly with their other appointed professional advisers to deliver the required sites to the required timescales
- Acting for a property developer client on a 10 year lease of office space at Leeds Dock
- Our software client are surrendering their existing lease and taking a new lease of an office building in Maidenhead for a term of 10 years. We acted for our client in negotiating an agreement for surrender and new lease, deed of surrender, new lease and licence for alterations for major works, including landlord’s contribution
- Advising on the acquisition of an old industrial site in Sheffield for regeneration as a large commercial and residential site with over 500 dwellings
- Advising a property developer client on the acquisition of a decommissioned pharmaceutical factory for redevelopment as a storage and distribution depot
- Advising a client on the proposed joint venture development of a 116 acre site for industrial use in a strategic location next to the A1(M). We advised the client on the appropriate structure for the development of the site and acted on behalf of the client in its negotiations with the proposed developer of the site
- Advising Versa on the exchange and completion of a 25 year lease from Leeds City Council for premises on Whitehall Road, Leeds which Versa are converting into film and television studios. This was not only a hugely important transaction for the client but it was also hugely important to Leeds City Council because of its commitment to expand the amount of TV and film and studio space across Leeds in order to meet the demand anticipated by Channel 4 relocating to Leeds
- Acting for Versa in connection with another 25 year lease for premises in Acton, London which are being converted into film and television studios
- Advising Allied London on an agreement for lease in respect of the former Alea Casino premises at Leeds Dock. Allied are planning to convert the former casino into 55,000 sq ft of flexible workspace for tech, media and creative business with ancillary wellness and social spaces, bar and events space
Commercial
- Acting for many FMCG and clothing brands in relation to commercial collaborations, licensing and commercial partnerships including in respect of design and promotional activities and initiatives.
- Acting for a listed soft drinks manufacturer on a range of commercial contracts including brand licence agreements, agreements for provision of in-store equipment and contracts for the provision of logistics and customer services.
- Acting for a multinational retailer on promotional campaign clearance work, including TV sponsorship deals, ASA issues, prize draws, promotions, POS material advice and advice on comparative advertising.
- Supporting many household name brands in respect of their relationships and collaborations with brand ambassadors and all resulting advertising, media and publicity issues.
- Preparing and negotiating commercial partnership agreements in respect of the sponsorship of various venues, including sports stadia and major visitor attractions. Also involved in the sponsorship of sports teams and the commercial relationships that flow from these.
Construction
- Advising a national retailer in connection with the negotiation and agreement of a phased Remedial Works Agreement for the multi-million pound remediation, over 5 years, of a two storey concrete car park at the largest shopping park in the UK in Bournemouth
Employment
- Acting for various retailers in relation to the recruitment of non-British nationals as well as providing general employment advice.
- Advising END on changes to terms and conditions affecting hundreds of employees across the business and acting as a sounding board for strategic HR matters across the business.