Global Real Estate Law
The global real estate market is dynamic and complex. To navigate this challenging and fast-moving industry, you require responsive legal advisers with an in-depth knowledge of international and local markets: responsive, accessible and able to execute your transactions seamlessly.
Gowling WLG is home to one of the world's strongest multi-disciplinary real estate legal teams. We're committed to providing you with timely, practical advice to help you meet the demands of customers, partners, regulators and investors.
We work alongside many of the sector's most successful companies and have helped to deliver numerous high-profile projects, advising throughout their lifecycle.
Our large, specialist team brings extensive personal experience of a wide range of assets. That means even where you are dealing with an unusual asset, we are likely to have expertise in that area. Our experience includes: railway stations, air and sea ports, bridges, recycling plants, district heating schemes, exhibition centres, power stations, schools, hospitals and many others.
We also have a strong track-record in the tech sector and so are well placed to respond as digital technologies begin to transform the way we use and manage our buildings, towns and cities.
While advancing your business goals is always our top priority, we know that your budget is finite. With this in mind, we optimise your legal spend by implementing efficient fee strategies, offering competitive rates and anticipating costs as far in advance as possible.
Fully integrated, we offer legal services across our global offices. Whatever the matter, we deliver quality that enables you to derive maximum value from your deals and resolve your transactions quickly and efficiently.
Because every job is different, every team we build is different. Your needs will be matched with the right expert in the right location. At all times, we look to save you money by using our people who work outside higher cost centres and utilising innovative proprietary systems for the delivery of legal services.
Planning is a core service area of any legal practice and our planning experts are proud to have acted on some of the UK's highest profile commercial, residential and infrastructure projects. Whether a landowner, developer or public authority, for example, we have the knowledge and resources to advise on all aspects of planning law, policy and procedures across the UK.
We achieve a negotiated solution wherever possible, but we also have considerable experience of planning appeals and call-in inquiries, examinations into local plans, compulsory purchase orders and judicial review litigation.
A growing demand for large industrial sites and distribution centres fuelled by more people shopping online has led to resurgence in the logistics market. Our sector-focused experts have been at the heart of the latest large-scale transactions.
Knowing how to combine real estate development with transport facilities will allow you to make the very most of transport connections and turn your development into a genuine destination.
We have significant experience of working both for, and on the other side, of transport organisations. Our work advising Barnett Council on the multi-billion pound Brent Cross Cricklewood scheme to create a new town centre is just one example of our ability to advise on large, complex redevelopment projects.
Such knowledge and insight enables us to support clients through the challenges of achieving successful development projects in the context of the safety and operational constraints of transport operators.
Acting for clients including institutions, property companies, banks and occupiers, we have dealt with many millions of square feet of offices. We advise on buying, selling, leasing, development, construction, planning, funding and asset management.
We also assist with headquarters and relocation transactions, major office campuses and business parks, and individual office blocks and portfolios.
We have extensive experience of helping developers and higher education clients run large scale development projects. Our immersion in this sector ensures that we provide only advice and support that is directly relevant to you and your business.
Planning restrictions have eased, land values are still relatively low post-credit crunch and the mortgage tap has been turned on. We operate a complete service for all aspects of development work from large scale consortium developments, joint ventures, public/private partnerships to the sale of residential units.
We also provide a fully rounded service for high net worth individuals focusing on due diligence and the protection and value of the asset.
Unlike the housebuilder model, investors and developers in build to rent base valuations on revenue rather than capital value. Gowling WLG has maintained close links with those operating in this developing area of the private rented sector. Our strong connections and experience means we have a detailed understanding of the main constraints and opportunities for those operating in the sector.
We are well known for our expertise in shopping centres and retail parks. Our specialist team acts on all aspects in their lifecycle, from acquisition, development, funding, letting and asset management to sale.
We act for owners, developers, local authorities and operators of some of the largest shopping centres, retail parks and high street retail portfolios.
We act for a wide range of developers, funders and local authorities, delivering innovative and commercial solutions to often complex specifications, quickly and efficiently.
Working in the assisted living or supported living market requires specialist knowledge. While it's a public service, to pay for the development of assisted living facilities, a fund must invest. Our team advises developers, investors and funds, meaning we have extensive knowledge across all areas of the market.
Issues such as funding and meeting the rising demand for affordable housing are high on the political agenda. Against this backdrop, clients need legal advisers with a passion to deliver solutions.
This is exactly what our social housing experts provide. Our strong track record in the sector means that we can provide the full range of services required - advice on issues ranging from property development, finance and governance to contentious and non-contentious housing management.
Our Corporate team has in-depth transaction expertise combined with sector knowledge. That means that whatever your requirements or ambitions, we have the skills and experience to provide an exceptional service.
Commercial leasing is a unique aspect of real estate and commercial law that requires specialised knowledge and skills. Our team offers a full range of commercial leasing services, including preparing the RFP, negotiating the offer and related leasing documents, and advising on the orderly turnover at the end of the term.
Hotel developers, investors and managers competing in a highly challenging and fast-changing sector need legal advisers who embrace change and give you commercial, pragmatic and insightful advice to help you thrive.
Our real estate experts in this sector are one part of a large, cross-discipline team, covering advertising and marketing, intellectual property, real estate, finance, corporate, employment and equalities, commercial contracts and IT, privacy and data protection and dispute resolution.
We advise on the full life cycle of an asset from acquisition, development (including large scale regeneration), management and lettings, through to sale of all types of property. These include mixed use offices, shopping centres, business and retail parks, hotels, industrial estates and logistics parks, residential, private rentals, healthcare, retirement and student accommodation.
Our dedicated asset management team works alongside a market leading investment practice. Unlike many law firms, this is a core business for us, which enables us to give asset management the right priority and resources.
Disputes are best avoided, but if you cannot avoid them you need to know that your legal team will get you the best outcome available.
With several of the best known names in the field, our specialist Real Estate Litigators do exactly that. Whilst being proudest of those cases which settled on good terms without reaching Court, they represent clients in arbitrations, expert determinations and Court proceedings at all levels. As well as a specialism in telecoms, they have acted on many of the leading cases on issues such as rights to light, contracts/options, negligence, lease renewals, service charges, landlord consents, rent reviews, original tenant guarantees, and restraining protestor activity. They also work closely with the planning team on major CPO compensation claims, for example caused by HS2.
Incorporating Advocates the team can provide a one-stop service if required but in any event bring trial expertise to even the earliest stages of the case. Whatever problem you are facing, you can be sure that we will resolve it as quickly and commercially as possible.
Examples of our work
- Advised HSBC Alternative Investments on the purchase of Brindley place, Birmingham, for £260 million
- Advised on the Ballymore Snowhill scheme, including the development and funding of Three Snow Hill
- Acted for Hearst Magazines UK on its relocation to a new HQ in Leicester Square, London.
- Advised on the disposal of the UK logistics platform industrials.co.uk to Stenprop for £127 million
- Advised on Amazon's 2.2m sq ft let at Roxhill and Port of Tilbury's 70-acre London Distribution Park in Essex
- Acted for Prologis regarding the pre-let to Screwfix of a 600,000 sq ft distribution facility at Prologis Park worth £55 million
- Advised The Crown Estate on the 150,000 sq ft extension to the Fosse Park shopping centre
- Counsel to Fiera Properties Limited in the launch of its diversified open-ended property fund, the Fiera Properties CORE Fund - the largest Canadian open-ended core property fund in more than 20 years - representing $352 million in equity capital from investors
- Counsel to a new Canadian real estate fund created by Standard Life Investments, which raised $77 million in initial equity
- Advised Urban & Civic on the acquisition, development and sale of Hampton by Hilton at Stansted Airport to a British multinational financial services company for circa £50 million
- Advised Birmingham City University on its 37,000 sq metre site in Eastside where it will build a new £130 million campus
- Advised Triple Point Social Housing REIT Plc on its £200 million + investments into the supported living and extra-care sectors
- Advising Sanctuary on placing approx. 3,500 units into charge to facilitate drawdown of various committed Revolving Credit Facilities by its treasury company
- Arden Cross Consortium - appointed as legal advisers to the consortium on Arden Cross, one of the UK's most significant development sites
- Counsel to Brookfield Capital Partners Ltd., the private equity group of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., in the provision of a US$130-million senior-secured term loan to North American Palladium Ltd
- Advised St Modwen Developments on its joint venture with VINCI PLC in relation to the £2 billion redevelopment of the New Covent Garden Market, London
- Advised Telereal Trillium on its acquisition of Lands Improvement from BlackRock Europe Property Fund III for £120 million. Lands Improvement has landholdings of 2,500 acres across 26 sites in the UK, generating an estimated pipeline of 13,000 new homes.
- Acted for Taylor Wimpey and Dorchester Living in concluding a development management agreement with the Secretary of State of Defence to regenerate an ex-MoD barracks in Whitehill & Bordon through a competitive tender dialogue. The scheme will create 2,400 new homes, a new town centre and a new secondary school, and will generate 3,000 new jobs.
Learn more
We're eager to hear about the challenges you face, and to help you seize the next opportunity. Please contact any member of our team to learn more about the legal services we offer.