Theme: Land acquisition, appropriation and disposal
(All qualified lawyers and surveyors (but should also be useful for those en route to qualification) and other local authority officers keen to develop their understanding of the legal issues and the role played by their solicitors)
5 December 2017, 9.30am registration (9.45am start) – 1.00pm (followed by lunch) Browne Jacobson, Nottingham (with Video Conferencing Equipment to Browne Jacobson’s offices in Birmingham and London)
Please note we offer the option to attend this course via video conference at another of our offices to make it accessible to as many EM Lawshare members as possible. We do our best to deliver the best experience we can with the technology we have, but inevitably it may not be as effective as attending the course in person. We always appreciate your feedback and make improvements if we can.
Presented by Browne Jacobson
Course overview
Suitable audience:
All local authority lawyers and those instructing them in relation to the acquisition of property currently let to tenants (or proposed to be)…and the disposal of similar properties.
Overview:
Whilst the years of austerity are not over, local authorities are from what we have seen perhaps a little more active now in acquiring property-for a variety of purposes, including property which is let to tenants in whole or in part and whether for wider regeneration, development and/or investment purposes.
Where property is currently occupied by tenants, or is intended to be let, there are additional issues that a purchaser’s solicitor will need to address, and yet further points that will need to be considered where the purchaser is a local authority.
In this seminar we’ll contrast investment property acquisitions with purchases of operational property, consider any additional due diligence requirements (including leasehold management and property taxation), and consider the contractual and practical/commercial issues that commonly arise.
We’ll also address relevant public law aspects including local authority powers and constraints (including the power to borrow money to invest, and where using a corporate vehicle may be appropriate).
Topics to be covered include:
• Investment property acquisitions compared with other property purchases
• Legal powers of local authorities
• Valuation and governance
• Relevant property taxes-SDLT and VAT treatment
• Due diligence-existing leases and leasehold management
• Transactional documentation-heads of terms, contract, transfer etc.-common issues, practical guidance, contract amendments
• Relevant case law and legislation
Interactive elements
The seminar will be built around a fictional (but plausible!) case study.
We’ll introduce the seminar with a set of heads of terms for a proposed acquisition and invite delegates to consider what questions they may want to ask before moving on to consider some of the key aspects and issues likely to need to be considered.
Using a draft sale and purchase agreement and transfer prepared by a vendor’s solicitor (and based upon a more fully developed set of heads of terms) we’ll then consider suitable drafting amendments that might be made and which of those are “must haves” or “nice to get if we can” and consider the wider practical and commercial points that will be relevant.
Duration: Half a day (3 training hours) including lunch
Competencies
This course will cover:
B4 Draft documents
B6 Negotiation
C1 Communicate clearly and effectively
D Managing themselves and their own work
Presenter profiles:
Neil Walker and Kassra Powles are commercial property lawyers and members of Browne Jacobson’s Development and Housing team. They have particular interest, expertise and experience in public sector property matters.
They have often have worked together over the last five years in acting for local authorities and other public bodies on the most complex and high value developments, acquisitions, disposals and other projects involving significant property assets for their public sector clients-including acting for local authority companies.
Andrew Noble, tax partner, noted for making property tax accessible-to his clients and his colleagues (!)-has also developed a specific expertise in advising public sector clients on property tax matters, and works regularly with Neil and Kassra.