Our commercial property team delivers focused strategic advice to a wide range of clients. We are at the forefront of commercial property development, working with a broad range of developers, investors and portfolio occupiers.

Our team delivers a personal cost-effective service that is partner-led. Our clients value us for the blend of technical expertise, pragmatic advice and quality of service that we deliver.

Our experience includes site acquisitions and disposals, contract and lease negotiation, strategic property portfolio advice and industry expertise.

Areas of expertise:

Residential development
Telecoms
Retail and leisure
Public and education and health sectors
Social housing
Energy projects
Real estate finance
Minerals

Why use us?

We are one of the largest and leading property and construction teams in Wales and the South-West comprising 15 partners and more than 45 other lawyers. Our client base represents the most significant players in the property market from major public sector bodies to leading universities, national house builders, developers, housing associations, utility companies and banks. We also advise Wales’ leading corporations on their estates portfolios and we have secured appointments to act on major pieces of work in England.

We have a unique relationship with the Land Registry and are taking part in a pilot to test the new revolutionary Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) process, a “gamechanger” in signing documents. We completed the UK’s first-ever property deal in 2021 using QES, which took 24 hours, from signing, registration at HMLR and the transfer of title becoming legally effective – something that would usually take 6-8 weeks.

As a full-service commercial firm, we are able to offer the knowledge and expertise of not only our Commercial Property lawyers but also our Construction and Property Dispute Resolution teams. Our teams collaborate closely where required and provide you with pragmatic, commercial advice.

Key contact

Peter Hurn

Partner

Peter heads up the fastest expanding real estate team in Wales. He was responsible for negotiating the lease for one of the biggest pre-let office deals in Wales, the firm’s new landmark headquarters at Two Central Square.

Peter Hurn

Partner

Head of Property

Email: peter.hurn@hughjames.com

Contact number: 029 2267 5400

Connect with Peter Hurn

Expertise:

Peter heads up the fastest expanding real estate team in Wales. He was responsible for negotiating the lease for one of the biggest pre-let office deals in Wales, the firm’s new landmark headquarters at Two Central Square.

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The team at Hugh James, led by Dan Morgan, have been superb, playing a key role in diligently supporting us through this significant transaction. Our long-standing relationship with Hugh James will certainly continue into the future as we continue to evolve and grow the Brains brand

Jon Bridge, Chief Executive, SA Brain & Co

Caroline has really helped Curo shape our new house building business over the past few years. Her knowledge of the property industry really is first class. Her proven track record speaks for itself and she is respected and admired throughout the industry in Wales and England. Caroline is a straight talker who immediately understands a client’s requirements and is able to work to extremely tight timescales and always delivers

Lisa Howells | Curo

We have appointed Hugh James on a range of site acquisitions. They have provided a professional service with one point of contact, they are responsive, deliver on timescale commitments, good communicators and most importantly, they’ve helped us get deals over the line.

Paul Gardiner | E G Carter

When appointing a team of consultants to work on our new development projects Caroline is our first call

Rhianydd Jenkins | Coastal Housing

Caroline’s ability and willingness to make a positive impact stands out on all the projects we have worked together on. We know that she has our interests at the forefront; she makes a positive contribution to the team and inspires and gains the confidence of others.

Scott Rooks | Candleston

We were thrilled to have Hugh James on board supporting and advising us on this demanding purchase. The Commercial property team delivered a first class, professional service and were critical in ensuring we acquired the site on the vendor’s strict terms and tight timescales.

Matt Worton, Director of Development, Rhondda Housing Association

She is excellent – she takes ownership of everything and her service has been second to none.

Chambers & Partners

Our clients

Our commercial property clients include:

Developers – residential, commercial, retail and leisure, industrial and public sector
Investors and financial institutions
Portfolio occupiers – social housing, retail, sport, leisure, public sector and student accommodation

Our experience includes the following:

Site acquisitions and disposals
Contract and lease negotiation
Strategic property portfolio advice
Industry expertise

Our client list includes:

Pobl
Coleg Gwent
Bellway
Great Point Studios
BDW Trading (Barratt Homes) Limited
Brackley Investments
Platform Housing Group
ICCW
Cardiff and Vale Local Health Board

How we act for our clients:

We consider ourselves as an extension of your own team. We will happily act as a sounding board, having a free-of-charge initial chat about a new matter to give you a steer on your options, without it needing to lead to an instruction.

For developers: We have a dedicated acquisition team that will drive your transactions proactively, working closely with your land and technical teams to understand your specific requirements in relation to each development and ensuring that your interests are protected throughout. Our services would include:

one key point of contact for each acquisition, managing internal teams to deliver a seamless service;
thorough due diligence including review of the legal title, searches, planning documentation, standard and additional enquiries; reporting to you on any pertinent matters as and when they arise;
site visit to understand the context of each proposed development and any technical constraints;
working closely with your technical team and consultants to ensure that the requirements of the scheme are met and that the contract documentation is appropriate for your ultimate development proposals;
liaising with our colleagues in construction in relation to the acceptability of warranties and letters of reliance from consultants, as well as our property dispute colleagues in relation to any potential issues arising from our due diligence exercise e.g. TVG, unauthorised access, adverse possession, occupiers etc;
providing a detailed and comprehensive report on title, documentation and due diligence for each site
regular meetings with your team to update on progress, clarify instructions, provide commercial advice on issues arising and present our final legal report; and
ongoing support throughout the development including negotiation of infrastructure agreements, transfers of land pursuant to Section 106 requirements and the disposal of land for affordable housing. We also act for a lot of registered providers, so understand their requirements.

Commercial property