Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised London & Quadrant Housing Trust (“L&Q”) on the sale of L&Q Estates to Urban & Civic. L&Q Estates is a strategic land business that specialises in acquiring sites, securing planning permission and providing infrastructure, before delivering them to developers to build homes.

Clifford Chance advised L&Q on its original purchase of L&Q Estates, then known as Gallagher Estates, back in 2017 which at the time was the largest land transaction undertaken by any housing association.

L&Q is one of the UK’s leading housing associations, owning and managing more than 105,000 homes. L&Q Estates was purchased by L&Q to unlock land for housing development on a regional basis and since then thousands of new homes have been delivered across the Midlands and South East. L&Q’s corporate strategy is now focused on prioritising investment into existing homes and services and targeting growth in London and Greater Manchester.

The Clifford Chance team was co-led by Corporate Real Estate Partner Ian Painter and Senior Corporate Real Estate Counsel Sarah Thomas, supported by Senior Associates Alex Pennington and Zain Farook and Associate Faye Ho. Tax advice was provided by Partner and Head of UK Real Estate Tax David Saleh, supported by Senior Associate Paul Harrington and Associate Ross Windell. Pensions advice was provided by Partner Clare Hoxey, intellectual property advice was provided by Partner Don McCombie, employment advice was provided by Partner Alastair Windass and antitrust input was provided by Partner Sue Hinchliffe and Associate Sandeep Ravikumar. In order to bring the transaction to a successful conclusion Clifford Chance worked with L&Q’s financial advisors Rothschild & Co (led by Peter Everest and Jake Shackleford) and real estate counsel Shakespeare Martineau (led by Joanna Deffley).