Laura Gale

As a commercial property solicitor in the firm’s Land and Development Division (a specialist group of land development solicitors within the wider Legal 500 recommended Commercial Property Department at Holmes & Hills Solicitors), Laura works with a broad client portfolio across Essex and East Anglia. Primarily advising the firm's landowner, developer, and investor clients, Laura focuses on early identification and resolution of barriers to the successful acquisition of and development of land. Day-to-day, Laura advises on matters such as:

• Sales and purchases (conditional and unconditional);
• Option Agreements;
• Promotion Agreements;
• Collaboration Agreements;
• Overage Agreements;
• Easements;
• Auction sales and purchases; and
• Agreements for Lease.

Case Studies

Some examples of Laura’s recent work include:

• Advising a landowner on the sale of a complex site to a developer for £1.5 million, which involved first acquiring the freehold interest, surrendering redundant easements, claiming adjacent land via adverse possession, and surrendering of a headlease and underlease with lender involvement. Laura worked with Holmes & Hills Planning Law Department who advised the client in respect of a variation to a s106 agreement required to facilitate the sale.
• Advising a developer on the strategic development of a site which involved:
  • Unconditionally purchasing Phase 1 by way of share purchase. Laura worked with the firm's Corporate and Commercial Department to provide property support and undertake due diligence in relation to the site, part of which housed a public house with ACV status, and to negotiate an Overage Agreement;
  • Negotiating a new Option Agreement in respect of Phase 2 with planning costs deductible, including pre-contract release of existing overage.
• Advising a purchaser on the acquisition of a multifaceted site for circa £6.5 million which involved detailed advice on:
  • An interim Licence to Occupy to enable the purchaser to take up occupation in order to move large quantities of stock;
  • Title matters and which rights benefitting and burdening the site have been extinguished at law via the principle unity of seisin;
  • Indemnities required for the purchaser’s protection in relation to third-party rights, commercial contamination, missing documents, lack of title guarantee from the seller, and outstanding planning conditions and s106 obligations;
  • The planning history of the site, including part of the site with extant planning permission for commercial development and requisite Letters of Reliance/assignment of copyright; and
  • Third-party finance.

Laura joined Holmes & Hills in 2021 and is based at Holmes & Hills' A12 Commercial Hub in Colchester (Marks Tey).