Shakespeare Martineau completes major L&Q sale

Shakespeare Martineau, a leading full-service law firm, has successfully completed a significant transaction for L&Q Housing Trust, facilitating the sale of L&Q Estates to Urban&Civic. The transaction, which involved the transfer of more than 100 sites from the L&Q Estates portfolio at various stages of land promotion and development, marks a major milestone for both parties.

The legal team at Shakespeare Martineau was instrumental in handling all property-related aspects of the sale. The firm’s residential development and planning teams collaborated closely to ensure a smooth and efficient process that aligned with L&Q Housing Trust’s strategic objectives.

The Shakespeare Martineau team included:

• Joanna Deffley (Residential Development Partner and Team Lead)
• Barry Fisher, Jack Kelly, Holly Lockley, Paul Harris, Ruth Thoms, Ashley Bhandari, Anthony Chan, Niamh Curran, Saleha Kothiya, and Roz Stiles (Land)
• Paul Wakefield and Rachael Coulsting (Legal Planning)
• Amal Kaur (Real Estate)

Joanna Deffley, who led the transaction, expressed her satisfaction with the successful completion: “We are delighted to have played a role in this significant transaction for L&Q Housing Trust. Our team’s dedication and expertise ensured a smooth process, aligning with L&Q’s strategic goals and supporting Urban&Civic’s expansion.”

She added, “Managing the property aspects of the sale not only reflects our capability in handling large-scale property deals but also underscores our commitment to supporting the housing sector’s growth and development.”

L&Q Housing Trust, one of the UK’s leading housing associations with ownership and management of over 105,000 homes, originally purchased L&Q Estates (formerly Gallagher Estates) in 2017. Shakespeare Martineau previously represented Gallagher Estates in that transaction, which was the largest land acquisition ever undertaken by a housing association at the time.

In the current deal, Clifford Chance provided corporate and tax advice to L&Q Housing Trust, while Eversheds acted on behalf of Urban&Civic.

This successful transaction further cements Shakespeare Martineau’s reputation as a go-to firm for complex real estate and development projects, particularly within the housing sector.