Associate - Commercial Development & Investment

Our Commercial Development and Investment team is looking for two Associates (0-2 PQE) to join our growing business in Birmingham.  The role will have a broad high value, high profile property and investment focus across a range of commercial sectors.

About the team

Gowling WLG is home to one of the UK's largest real estate practices with a team of more than 320 commercially-minded, innovative and pragmatic real estate lawyers. We work alongside many of the sector's most successful companies and have helped to deliver numerous high profile and market leading projects, advising throughout their lifecycle.

As one of the biggest dedicated commercial real estate teams in the UK, we regularly lead on high value and strategically important deals and projects. Our extensive experience means clients receive innovative and commercial solutions to often complex issues quickly and efficiently.

Our comprehensive real estate development service includes site assembly, obtaining planning permission and negotiating infrastructure agreements, securing tenants (often on a pre-let basis), structuring and negotiating tax-efficient development funding and joint ventures, through to disposal of the developed asset.

Advice we provide on development and investment projects includes: strategic land options, joint venture projects, promotion agreements, conditional land purchase contracts, sale and leaseback transactions, development forward funding and forward commit agreements, commercial lettings, overage agreements, joint ventures and much more.  We work shoulder to shoulder with our clients to help them create assets and bring forward long term schemes, culminating either in disposal or handing over to our separate dedicated asset management team.

Our wide range of clients includes real estate developers, property companies, institutional investors, private equity investors and PLC corporate occupiers.  We advise on logistics sites and industrial estates, business and retail parks, strategic corporate developments, offices and data centres.

Clients of the team include: Bridge Industrial, Caddick Land, DP World, Graftongate, Harworth Group plc, Howdens, IM Properties, Jaguar Land Rover, LondonMetric Property plc, Peel L&P, Prologis, THG plc and Virtus.

About the role

Our business is growing and we are looking for confident, technically strong and dynamic Associates to join the team to provide support to and work closely with Partners and other senior fee earners on commercial property work. This will be in relation to a wide spectrum of transactions for property companies, developers and end users of strategic real estate facilities, for substantial UK wide property development and investment projects. 

This is an opportunity to increase the depth and breadth of your experience, to be able to work with high profile and sophisticated clients.  The work is challenging, varied and interesting and will provide a platform to develop and nurture strong client relationships, as well as work closely with experienced specialist lawyers within the team and wider firm.

The role will have a broad high value, high profile property development and investment focus across a range of commercial sectors.  It will involve:

• Acquisition and disposal of land and substantial real estate investment assets, freehold and leasehold (often by way of conditional contracts and including unregistered land)
• Advising on structuring development transactions and heads of terms;
• Pre-lettings and lettings;
• Sale and leaseback transactions; 
• Real estate aspects of financing projects, including Certificates of Title;
• Associated property deeds and documents (e.g. agreements for lease/surrender, deeds of variation etc)

More particularly, in addition to drafting and negotiating all the above, the role will include title investigation, searches, enquiries, research, analysis, liaising with clients, agents and third parties, reporting on title, indemnity insurance arrangements, project management, Land Registry or other applications (including SDLT) and post completion formalities. 

Client service is at the heart of our business and we place great emphasis on understanding client requirements and delivering on and exceeding expectations. The role will be predominantly office based and you will be expected to play an active role in marketing and business development, group practice development and client entertainment/training events and activities. 

About you

You should be able to:

• Manage your own caseload to tight deadlines, remain calm under pressure and prioritise your workload effectively;
• Work collaboratively in a team environment (which may involve working as part of a bigger project team) and support your colleagues;
• Give clear, practical advice with sound judgment and swift, accurate implementation of instructions;
• Negotiate effectively and deliver commercial solutions for our clients;
• Communicate appropriately and work collaboratively with Gowling WLG team members, clients and other professionals (e.g. agents, surveyors, consultants, accountants and others);
• Understand title registers, deeds and documents and have experience of drafting and negotiating purchase contracts, transfers, leases and related deeds and documents. Delegate where appropriate and supervise trainees and paralegals;
• Prepare for and participate in marketing and business development events and activities;
• Actively contribute to the firm's sector group initiatives as part of growing and promoting our industrial and logistics practice;
• Prepare for and help deliver external and internal presentations, seminars, and training sessions) as part of our added value services to our clients and within the team;
• Take ownership of your matters and keep colleagues and clients updated on progress;
• Demonstrate an appetite for learning and a willingness to operate outside your comfort zone.

What we can offer you

The opportunity to work for a firm which has been recognised as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work® for 25 consecutive years.

Excellent benefits, including:

• The buzz that comes with working in one of the biggest and most respected real estate practices in the UK 
• The opportunity to join a firm which has been recognised as one of the top 10 best places to work in the UK and ranked by Great Place to Work® for 25 consecutive years
• A hybrid approach to office and remote working.
• 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave
• Lawyer bonus
• Private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
• A generous pension allowance
• Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
• The chance of a three-month sabbatical every five years
• Maternity, paternity and adoption leave schemes
• A range of health and wellbeing programmes
• State of the art offices, in the heart of Birmingham City Centre, with an onsite restaurant
• Opportunities to flourish in your role and advance your career through training and personal development

Many of our people work flexibly in some way. If you would like to explore your own flexible working arrangements with us, we are happy to discuss this during the recruitment process.

Equal opportunities

Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment.  The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including colour, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity and paternity.  This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.

At Gowling WLG we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work.  Our aim is to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.

Any offers we make will be conditional subject to clearance by the SRA, evidence of eligibility to work in the UK and DBS clearance.

For more information on the role please get in touch with Arun Kainth - Arun.Kainth@gowlingwlg.com

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