Land Sales

If you are a land owner and are looking to sell your land then there are a number of potential ways to go about this:

• A straightforward sale of the property. This is the traditional method of sale and would be unconditional i.e. would not have any contractual conditions attached to the sale.
• A sale by way of a conditional contract. This is where the buyer (it is usually the buyer that wants to place a condition upon completion) is not obliged to complete the purchase until a specified condition has occurred.
• An option granted to the buyer to purchase the property provides less certainty for a seller as the buyer will usually be under no obligation to exercise the option. He may choose to do so, or may not.
• A promotion agreement is an agreement entered into with an intermediary (a promoter or strategic land company) who will seek to obtain (at their own cost and risk) planning consent for the property and then look to arrange a sale of the property to a developer. The intermediary then receives a percentage of the sale proceeds upon the sale to the developer.

You should seek advice from our specialist lawyers before agreeing to enter into any arrange involving the sale of land. We will ensure that you understand the full range of options that are available to you and that you have access to appropriate valuation advice to assist in the decision making process.

With a team of 20 legal professionals dealing with residential development the Myerson residential development team is one of the largest in the North West. The breadth and depth of experience that the team brings is able to be fully utilised to ensure that clients achieve the best possible outcome to their proposed development project. The team is well used to dealing with very complex development matters, whether these relate to complex joint venture structures, overage issues, funding arrangements or residential unit sales.

We provide advice in clear terms tailored to your requirements to ensure that you achieve your desired outcomes with as little stress as possible.

Examples of our recent work include the following:

• The acquisition of a site in Salford for a development of over 600 residential properties including the site assembly from several different landowners, dealing with development funding and then managing the sale process to end purchasers. 
• Acting for land owners concerning a promotion agreement whereby their land was put through the planning process by the promoter and then sold on to a national housebuilder.
• Acting for landowners in relation to the sale of their land to a national housebuilder by way of a contract conditional upon planning. The contractual arrangements were complex and needed to protect and secure the landowner’s position over a period of several years, whilst the housebuilder gained planning consent.
• The acquisition of development land on behalf of developers upon which to build more than 1,000 houses and dealing with adjoining landowners to facilitate the access to and servicing of the wider development area.
• Acting for land owners in relation to the sale of land to a housebuilder and including overage provisions to enable the land owner to share in any value created from future development of the site.
• Acting for developers in relation to the purchase of an industrial site in Salford on a conditional upon planning basis and then the development and sale of 400 apartments.
• The purchase and development of a Manchester city centre residential development site on behalf of developers and the forward funding arrangements for the whole block with a PRS fund. 
• Acting for a developer in relation to the development of high value apartments in a prestigious Cheshire location, including securing the site by way of a contract conditional upon planning and then the sale of the completed apartments to individual owner occupiers.
• The sale of a substantial freehold reversion portfolio to a specialist ground rent fund.
• Agreeing the joint venture arrangements between landowner and developer concerning the development of a substantial residential scheme on a Greater Manchester site.