Our housebuilder expertise
Clarke Willmott’s multi-disciplinary, multi-office housebuilder sector encompasses all areas of law it takes to build a home, from land buying, planning and construction to site set up and plot conveyancing. We are regarded as leading legal advisers to the residential development sector, acting for three of the nation’s five largest housebuilder firms.
The sector comprises of over 48 specialist development lawyers located throughout England and Wales. Our volume housebuilder team is led by Philip Thompson who previously worked as an in-house Legal Director at a national housebuilder.
A bespoke SME housebuilder team, led by Nicola Sutton, sits within this sector. Offering dedicated support to our SME housebuilder clients the team is well placed to anticipate the challenges they face.
How we can help you
We offer all housebuilder clients a full range of legal services including:
Commercial property
Our partner-led team of commercial property solicitors is one of the largest in the UK. The team provides the expertise of more than 100 lawyers who advise at every stage of the commercial property lifecycle, from first plans and land acquisition through to sale.
Construction
We have specialist teams in contentious and non-contentious construction and advise on every aspect of the procurement process. Our comprehensive understanding of the industry coupled with strong commercial awareness is essential to providing focussed, proactive legal advice to our housebuilder clients.
Property litigation
We have one of the largest property litigation teams in the UK and our broad expertise means we can support you with all your housebuilder litigation needs.
Although a ‘litigation’ team, the vast majority of disputes we work on are settled by negotiation or at mediation; only very rarely does a matter proceed to trial. Our aim is to secure your commercial objectives in the most efficient way possible and, by working with the rest of the housebuilder team, ensure that future disputes can be avoided.
We recognise the importance of reputation for our housebuilder clients small and large and particularly the impact a regional dispute may have to an SME business in its target area.
Planning
Our nationally recognised planning and the environment solicitors provide expert advice on the full range of contentious and non-contentious planning and environmental law issues. We advise in relation to all forms of development and encompassing issues of housing development (including affordable housing).
What sets us apart and continues to bring clients back to us time and time again is our consistent ability to deliver timely commercial advice and to solve, rather than create, planning problems. Our experienced practitioners work alongside our clients and guide them through the complexities of the planning system and fast changing environmental laws.
The complexities in the planning system pose a bespoke set of issues for an SME housebuilder. We recognise that upfront costs and slow uncertain processes can be a very real challenge, so we work with clients to tailor our service with this in mind.
Plot sales
Our plot sales team of more than 35 people works closely with our housebuilder clients to understand their requirements, the team’s expertise includes acquisition of development land as well as home sales.
The team delivers a prompt, efficient, cost effective and comprehensive service no matter the size of the site.
