We are advising the seller of a large surplus site that is being purchased by a housing developer. The deal had complex pricing, overage, and planning provisions. There were four different types of overage which had to be secured for the protection of the seller. The purchase price was based on the planning permission obtained and calculated on the net residential sellable area achieved. It was further complicated due to the involvement of the county and local councils.
The purchaser and their guarantor were off-shore companies, so we had to make sure the documents met the local jurisdiction requirements. At the last minute, the developer asked to bring the completion date forward, but defer the payment of the 90% purchase price (a loan of around £9million). We brought in our corporate team to advise on the secured lending side to meet the tight timescale.
