A complex commercial deal involving 38 properties and 174 ground rents has been successfully completed with the expert help of Coles Miller Solicitors.
The deal involved a portfolio of:
- 30 residential properties let on assured shorthold tenancies
- 7 industrial units and 1 retail property, all let on commercial leases
- 174 ground rents.
All the legal work was carried out by Coles Miller’s commercial property solicitors. They acted for the buyer and also for the mortgage lender.
All the properties are in Surrey and Essex. Nineteen were mortgaged to release funds for completion.
The deal involved a member of a family purchasing the properties from four relatives, an estate and a joint trust. The buyer was purchasing 40.01% of a company; he already co-owned 59.99% of it.
It took nine months to complete the deal. Matters were overshadowed and complicated by the sad death of one of the shareholders. Probate had to be obtained and the company’s articles of association had to be changed.
Most of the work was done by Coles Miller commercial property Associate Solicitor Charlotte Lilley.
“It was probably one of the most complex commercial property matters that I’ve ever handled,” she said.
“We had to change the company’s articles to meet the mortgage lender’s requirements as there would be more than one person with significant control.
“We needed to manage the control each party had in order to meet the lender’s requirements at the 11th hour. We had to deal directly with their underwriter in order to resolve all these issues,” she added.
Coles Miller’s Poole-based commercial property solicitors handle enquiries from all over the country. Their work includes:
- offices, industrial and retail properties
- acquisitions and sales of portfolios
- hotels, leisure and licensed premises
- franchises
- residential letting portfolios
- investment property – including SIPP purchases
- development, plot sales and conditional contracts
- joint ventures
- sale and leaseback arrangements
- property finance.
For more information, contact Coles Miller commercial property Associate Solicitor Charlotte Lilley.
