Property Lawyer (Development Focus)
In‑House | Manchester or Isle of Man | £60,000 - £80,000 | 4‑8 years PQE
Our client is a privately owned property development group with a substantial and growing presence across the UK, operating for over 35 years and holding more than 100 industry awards for design and quality.
The business operates across residential housebuilding, strategic land and contractor work for third party investment builders. Housebuilding is the core activity, delivering thousands of new homes per year across the UK with significant growth ambitions. As a privately owned business, it retains the culture and agility that comes with that.
The legal team is split across construction and property. This role sits within the property team, working closely with a small number of colleagues and reporting to the Head of Legal. The focus of the role is development work, spanning the full lifecycle from site acquisition through to plot sales. You will own your matters end‑to‑end and work directly with stakeholders across the business, with the opportunity to take on greater responsibility over time.
The role
- Run site acquisitions and disposals end‑to‑end - freehold and leasehold - including title review, due diligence, conditions precedent management and completions
- Review and negotiate conditional contracts, options, overage agreements, development agreements and associated ancillary documentation
- Support lettings and landlord and tenant workstreams including agreements for lease, licences and variations
- Advise on property risk across live projects - title defects, easements and rights, restrictive covenants, access, utilities and environmental matters - escalating higher‑risk issues appropriately
- Support the plot sales team on site set‑up, preparation of precedent sales documents and day‑to‑day queries
- Coordinate legal input on planning conditions and obligations, liaising with external counsel where required
- Draft and negotiate commercial contracts - professional services, agency, marketing and NDAs
- Instruct and manage external counsel, controlling cost and ensuring quality and responsiveness
- Contribute to the team’s ongoing development - templates, playbooks, checklists and ways of working
Our client is looking for
- A qualified solicitor with 4 to 8 years PQE
- Someone with a strong real estate transactional background and meaningful exposure to property development work, from private practice, in‑house, or both
- A confident, commercially minded lawyer - able to give clear, pragmatic advice to non‑lawyers and manage relationships across a range of internal clients
- A highly organised individual with the ability to prioritise a busy caseload under pressure and keep multiple transactions moving simultaneously
- Sound drafting and negotiation skills with good attention to detail
- Prior in‑house experience preferred
- Exposure to BTR, residential development, regeneration or mixed‑use schemes an advantage
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