Top 100 UK law firm, Hugh James, has been appointed to provide legal advice to Platform Housing Group, one of the UK’s largest social housing developers, under a £22.4m legal services framework agreement.
The Group has appointed 9 firms to its panel, which will run for a four-year period, and will provide expert support to Platform as it delivers against its ambition to create 12,000 new homes over the next 5 years.
Platform Housing Group manages 46,000 homes and covers an area from Herefordshire in the West to the Lincolnshire coast in the East, and from the Derbyshire Dales in the North to the Cotswolds in the South.
Specialist lawyers from Hugh James will be on hand to provide support to Platform’s 170 schemes which are currently underway, throughout the various stages – from acquisition, planning, construction, through to sales.
Commenting on the appointment, Hugh James Commercial Property Partner, Caroline O’Flaherty, said today:
“We’re absolutely thrilled to have been chosen to work with such a large and innovative housing provider and to be advising on schemes at the forefront of the decarbonisation agenda. The Platform Group is well-regarded for its commitment to creating thriving places for people to live, work and play. We’re looking forward to working on some fantastic projects which aim to strike a balance between creating quality homes, community and open spaces.”
Hugh James has over 3 decades of experience supporting the sector and has established itself as one of the leading social housing law firms in the UK. Its social housing team employs over 50 lawyers, paralegals and support staff and serves a client base of over 40 housing associations and local authorities in England and Wales.
Platform Housing Group completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built.
Nathan Barson, Procurement Director at Platform Housing Group, said:
“It is great to see our new Category Management function using the tools and techniques to deliver such high-quality work; not only have we successfully mapped our complex requirements but we have managed to secure commercially robust agreements with some of the country’s leading law firms. We have added value, successfully matched our ambitions to the leading players in the market and ensured we have the partnerships in place for a truly modern housing association.”
