Acuity has a strong track record in major development work and has helped deliver highly significant projects across the UK and beyond. It can draw upon extensive expertise ranging from large city centre regeneration schemes to complex infrastructure projects and has established experience in sectors ranging from healthcare to higher education, and from manufacturing to residential property.
The development team takes intricate ideas from proposal to practical completion, handling all aspects of a project from acquisition and planning to construction and leasing. This comprehensive approach has seen the “drive” of Acuity’s experts in this field hailed by the leading legal directories, who have noted that its key individuals “excel in development”.
The team has helped its clients deliver everything from greenfield residential real estate to inner-city schools, utilising advanced funding structures, joint ventures and other methods to overcome any obstacles. The development team also work closely on several projects with Acuity’s litigation department, which has extensive experience in real estate and construction litigation. The litigation team has experience in resolving disputes through the courts, tribunal and arbitration, as well as a breadth of experience in various forms of alternative dispute resolution.
While the development team’s knowledge of the complexities of real estate development and construction is extensive, this is allied with a client-focused pragmatism – with the Chambers and Partners legal directory reporting the remarks of one satisfied user of our services that he found our lawyers “very accessible, easy to talk to and very prompt in replying”.
This approach has led to an ever-widening client base and the team’s sectoral strength now stretches from semi-detached homes to semiconductors and includes work for companies engaged in the delivery of retirement communities, medical facilities, commercial office space and broadcasting studios. The common thread across these diverse projects and industries is a details-led approach that leverages Acuity’s long history of project delivery with a keen understanding of the future trends shaping the developments of tomorrow.
Here are some examples of work undertaken within the sector:
- Acuity continues to assist longstanding client Rightacres on Cardiff’s Central Square, a landmark £400 million development and regeneration of the city centre that includes one million sq ft of office, residential and retail space.
- The development team’s involvement on Central Square ranges from the acquisition of the entire site to the development, construction, financing, sale and letting of all building plots with highly complex financing arrangements with blue-chip funder Legal & General.
- Assisting Rightacres in the delivery at Central Square of a new £100 million headquarters for BBC Wales, the high-end office space of One and Two Central Square, and a high-profile new Wales headquarters for HMRC. The latter is one of the Government Property Unit’s flagship enterprises and will eventually hold more than 4,000 staff.
- Partnering with Rightacres to agree terms with parties including the Welsh Rugby Union for the construction of the luxury new Westgate Hotel in the shadow of the city’s famous Principality Stadium.
- Advising Rightacres on the long-awaited deal for the Interchange Building – the £100 million project which will be home to Cardiff’s new bus station, as well as high-end commercial and residential units and retail space. The project was named “Deal of the Year” by the inaugural Cardiff Property Awards.
- A further Rightacres project being guided by Acuity is the Department of Work and Pensions’ (DWP’s) new modern office hub in the heart of the Welsh valleys, which will see the delivery of more than 12,000 square metres of Grade A office space at a new building to be constructed in Treforest, Pontypridd.
- Acting in the acquisition and redevelopment of a significant scheme in South London encompassing residential, education and community buildings and the refurbishment of Grade II listed buildings on the site.
- Advising IQE plc, the global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced semiconductor wafer products, on the historic £38m deal to establish the world’s first compound semiconductor cluster in South Wales, the first investment under the £1.2bn Cardiff Capital Region City Deal programme.
- Acting for University of Wales Trinity Saint David on its multi-million pound SA1 Swansea Waterfront sustainable development, a joint venture to create purpose-built facilities for learning, teaching and research as well as social, leisure and recreation space.
- Acting for Greenbank Partnerships in its £500m development of the Cardiff International Sports Village on reclaimed land in Cardiff Bay, the major regeneration scheme that includes one of the most highly regarded ice sports arenas in the UK, as well as residential and retail developments.
- Acting for Bluestone Resorts in connection with a new £105m resort in North Wales, having advised on its original five-star national park resort in Pembrokeshire.
- Acting for Principality Building Society on its involvement as funding partner for a flagship regeneration scheme to create a £100 million urban village, a vibrant and sustainable new community in Cardiff with 800 homes, half of which are affordable homes.
