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Commercial Property Conveyancing Solicitors - Buying & Selling a Commercial Property

 

Lanyon Bowdler's Commercial Conveyancing Solicitors advise parties on all aspects of buying and selling a commercial property.

We can carry out the necessary commercial property conveyancing work to legally transfer ownership, releasing the seller from any responsibility for the property and ensuring the buyer's name is properly registered on the title deeds and with the Land Registry.

For leasehold commercial properties, we can advise on any potential future issues, for example where the terms of the lease place restrictions on the kind of commercial activities that can be carried out on the site.

Our Commercial Conveyancing Lawyers are experienced in technical areas such as overage and option agreements, as well as any restrictive covenants you might want to challenge or vary before proceeding with the purchase.

We have offices in Herefordshire, Shropshire and North Wales. But we can advise on transactions taking place further afield, from coast to coast in England and Wales, as well as in Northern Ireland.

Acquisitions & Disposals

Commercial property acquisitions and disposals range from the relatively straightforward to the necessarily complex, but with Lanyon Bowdler's advice you can protect your interests in either case.

Whether you are looking to buy or sell a parcel of land for commercial development, an individual completed unit, a larger collection of plots or premises that are currently used for a different purpose (e.g. residential), we can help.

Our expert commercial conveyancing solicitors will carry out the due diligence, property searches, title checks and so on, ensuring your transaction can proceed without exposing you to unacceptable legal risks.

Similar to residential property conveyancing, this can include background checks for common risks such as undermining, flooding and so on, which might affect the market value of the property and future considerations including the availability and cost of buildings insurance.

Property is one of the biggest physical assets for any company, as well as one of the biggest financial obligations for businesses operating  from leased or rented premises.

With our advice, you can optimise your financial interests, pay down debts secured against your commercial property and/or unlock capital to reinvest in future developments either property-related or otherwise.

Commercial Conveyancing

Commercial conveyancing spans a much wider range of transactions than residential conveyancing. Whereas residential transactions typically involve freehold or leasehold flats or houses, commercial conveyancing can include:

  • Retail premises
  • Warehouses and industrial units
  • Office buildings
  • Industrial/retail parks with multiple units
  • Greenfield and brownfield sites for development
  • Other categories and uses

The larger the transaction, the larger the risk. This is why it is especially important to work with a leading full-service law firm on more complex transactions, including multiple commercial units or where the contract contains overage, option agreements and restrictive covenants.

We advise on all aspects of the conveyancing process, from acquisitions and disposals through to planning permission for new and extended developments, conveyancing leases and financing negotiations.

If you plan to redevelop the site after purchase, we can advise on environmental obligations such as cleaning brownfield land or limitations on the development of greenfield sites, and how these might affect the profitability or basic viability of your project.

At all times our team of experts work diligently on your behalf, putting your interests first as our client whilst also ensuring we make you aware of any unavoidable legal issues that require further investigation, renegotiation of the deal, or which we believe make it inappropriate to complete the transaction.

Option Agreements

Option agreements are a legally binding arrangement, secured by a non-refundable payment, which gives a potential buyer the right to buy a property at a future point if certain conditions are met.

Some examples of when this might be used include:

  • To put a time limit on the completion of a sale
  • To link a sale or purchase to the successful approval of planning permission
  • Projects that depend on the successful purchase of multiple adjacent sites

Option agreements fall into four main categories:

  • Call: The buyer has the right to purchase the property
  • Put: The seller has the right to sell the property
  • Cross: Both the buyer and the seller receive a call/put option
  • Reverse: The seller can reverse the sale if an agreed overage payment is not made

Option agreements can protect the interests of one party but are often mutually beneficial, as they decrease the risks associated with delays, for example due to it taking longer than expected to obtain planning permission. They can also be used to promote land into the local plan for future development.

For buyers/developers, an option agreement may be used to fix the purchase price, so if the market value increases significantly, you do not have to raise a large amount of additional capital (this may be offset using an overage agreement if appropriate).

For sellers, option arrangements can give similar protection in a down market, by including a minimum price anc  with the additional secured income from the non-refundable deposit and any agreed overage terms.

Lanyon Bowdler's commercial property solicitors can help you to decide whether to use an option agreement when buying and selling commercial property, or whether to proceed with the purchase of premises which are subject to a pre-existing option arrangement.

Conditional Contracts

Like option agreements, conditional contracts are legally binding contracts to buy property at a future date. Typically these relate to a buyer committing to purchase property provided a satisfactory planning permission is obtained. From a seller’s perspective there is more certainty than under an option since the seller will know that the buyer is bound to complete the purchase if the satisfactory planning permission is obtained. The corollary to this is that there is  less flexibility for a buyer since he is committed to the purchase once the satisfactory planning permission is obtained.

Contact Lanyon Bowdler

At Lanyon Bowdler we pride ourselves in offering easy to understand legal advice on complex commercial property conveyancing transactions, so whatever the scale of your acquisition or disposal, we can help.

We have many years of experience in all aspects of commercial conveyancing, including specific aspects such as leasehold agreements, restrictive covenants, option arrangements and overage, and we can help you to understand your exposure to these too.

Our offices are located in Shrewsbury, Telford, Conwy, Hereford, Oswestry, Ludlow and Bromyard. Many of our clients are found in Birmingham and Wolverhampton, and across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Mid and North Wales.

But we can represent clients on commercial property transactions located anywhere in Northern Ireland, Wales or England, giving you reliable access to a highly rated full-service law firm whenever and wherever you need us.

To find out more, give us a call or fill in our online form and one of our commercial conveyancing experts will be happy to advise you on how to proceed.

 

Testimonials

They exceeded expectations.

- Mr C L Bodenham, Ludlow

Relaxed atmosphere and professional service. Nothing was too much trouble.

- Mr John Gittens, Hereford

Clear explanations to what could be a minefield to people not solicitors!

- Samaritans, Telford

We have always used Lanyon Bowdler as my parents used you in the past.

- Mary Lewis, Shropshire

The range of advice and guidance available. 

- Mr Patrick Martin John Hamer

Courteous service and quick replies. 

- Mr Arwel Prysor Williams & Mrs Elin Prysor, Conwy

Easy to contact and knowledgeable. Completed within agreed time scale and I was kept well informed.

- Mr Jonathan Tudor Keable, Oswestry

Despite the restrictions imposed by Covid19, the transaction was completed speedily and efficiently. Advice was always available. 

- Angela Isobel Kennepy, Hereford