Investment

You are a fund manager investing £15m directly in real estate and once invested, you'll want that asset managed and enhanced. You need smart lawyers who combine attention to detail and an ability to draw out the material points, with an understanding of your need to minimise costs when negotiating the UK property investment cycle.

You need perceptive advice on financing these investments and your letting and managing agents will need a law firm that is quick to negotiate leases, that can resolve disputes, and which can deal practically with any problems with tenants or issues with contractors, planners or regulators.

And when the time comes to dispose of the asset, you want that same law firm to complete the transaction conscientiously and speedily. No frills, no flourishes, just accomplished real estate lawyers who don't charge a fortune. It is increasingly likely that you will instruct a firm like Bond Pearce.

A discernible legal trend has seen rivals emerge outside the capital to the large City of London and West End firms that once dominated commercial property legal advice.

With fees significantly less than City firms charge, the new wave of real estate lawyers often boast successful City experience in addition to peerless local knowledge.

Bond Pearce has been in the vanguard of this flight of work from the City, and partner William Akerman has built a team with nationwide scope capable of more than matching the quality of advice offered by the old order.

Many investors and their portfolios are represented on the impressive Bond Pearce track record. The list includes the Church Commissioners for England, the Crown Estate, Associated British Ports, TR Property Investment Trust plc, Quintain Estates and Development plc, CIT Group plc, private and public companies and private individuals.

"We've assembled an experienced team comfortable working across the broad range of services needed through the investment cycle, from acquisition to asset management to disposal," William says. "We really can excel for clients on this grass roots direct property investment work."

"We've experience handling a wide variety of transactions, from City offices, seaside piers to shopping centres. But we don't pretend we're unique."

"We're candid, we do the job thoroughly, know the importance to investor clients of basic but personalised support services like efficient deeds management and, I think, we offer excellent value for money." "We are also very happy to work alongside other firms, where the client wants to instruct different advisors on discrete elements of a purchase. On a £150m shopping centre acquisition, it might instruct a City firm on the property finance elements and us on the real estate due diligence; on the mid value transactions we would comfortably do the lot."