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'If you plan a project well from the beginning, and take the right advice at the right time, you can achieve real results,' says Julie Teal, who heads up the construction team at Withers.

‘We can help you with the formalities of designing and building an asset you’ll be happy with not only at completion but also in the future as an investment. That’s true whether it’s a personal or a commercial project.’

Contract drafting and negotiation are major aspects of our service, but we also provide project support whenever needed, helping you to find solutions to practical and contractual problems during the course of the works. Our institutional and commercial projects include world class research and teaching facilities for hospital charities, the development of a 4,850 sq ft flagship store for Tory Burch on Milan’s Via della Spiga, commercial/residential ‘mixed use’ schemes throughout London, bespoke office fit out, gallery and performance space new build and refurbishment.

No project is too ambitious: with a particular strength in leisure, we have drafted framework agreements and call-off contracts to deliver sports infrastructure throughout the UK including artificial grass pitches, training and changing room facilities, helped to deliver new stadia and reconfigure arenas. As Soho House creates new venues around the world from Chicago to Istanbul to London, we have also created a variety of construction agreements specifically tailored to the client’s needs – often as a developer or contractor in its own right but also when collaborating with investors, other developers and individuals.

Because we act for dynamic, creative business leaders and entrepreneurs, we often find that our private clients want to do major work that brings them into the domain of professional developers. We’ve helped to turn an English manor house into a hotel, drafted engineering contracts for landowners to convert agricultural waste to renewable energy and guided wealthy families through the early stages of establishing development portfolios.

Whether you’re motivated by tax or investment concerns, or interested in working with the most innovative designers on a highly personal project, we can help you to get the emphasis right, creating contracts that meet your exacting standards. We know how banks and institutional investors view development risk and what makes a project ‘bankable’ – many of our documents are prepared with this in mind. As a global firm we are adept at working with international clients and have supported projects throughout Europe, the US, Middle East and Asia.

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Recognition

Ranked in Band 2 for Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Leading individual for real estate: high value residential

Ranked Tier 1 for agriculture and estates

Clients

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Julie Teal and the team provide us with reliable, responsive legal advice on many of our construction contracts.  The team’s long experience of working at all levels in the industry (from specialist trades through to funders) means that there are few situations they haven’t dealt with, and they consider all aspects of each situation to ensure that their advice is both comprehensive and commercial.

Emma Barnard - Apex Lifts
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We have benefitted from Withers’ commercial expertise in the sports sector. The team have also played an important role in advising on our new stadium and training ground plans, helping to inform and shape our successful strategy.

Mark Donnelly - Queens Park Rangers
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Withers has been advising us on a major new project to develop a large clinical research facility on our site. This is just the latest project they have assisted on, and we have benefitted from the firm’s broad base of knowledge in charity law, corporate law and its noted expertise in development and construction projects. We appreciate the firm’s support for our essential work.

The Royal Free Hampstead Charities
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Withers has provided effective advice for the procurement of construction and consultants contracts on our hotel in the City of London, The Ned.  The team are professional, knowledgeable and quick to identify problems and suggest solutions.  We have enjoyed working with them on this large scale project.

Stuart Adolph - Sydell Group
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Withers and RPP share a common goal to deliver the best results for our clients through thinking outside the box and creating pragmatic solutions that achieve our clients’ aims. Julie and I have developed an excellent working rapport over the years, whereby we maintain close communication throughout each project to share ideas and to deal with issues as a team.

David Meghan, Director of Rex Procter and Partners
‘‘

Julie has been a trusted legal advisor and integral part of our team for some time now and has played a very important part in the success of our developments.  We are delighted that we can continue to rely on the advice that Julie offers us across all stages of the development process, ranging from building contracts and appointments, through to insurance and funding requirements.  Julie’s wealth of experience gained in acting on both sides greatly assists us and ensures that her advice is always commercial, sensible and above all practical.

Nick Pendlebury - IPSUS
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We have benefitted from Withers’ construction team’s assistance on a number of our projects.  The team understand the range of issues we face and provide valuable advice on how we can minimise risk when negotiating our appointment and payment terms, as well as compliance with our PI insurance requirements.  We recommend them for their broad industry knowledge and responsive client service.

Alexander Hellyer - Child Graddon Lewis
‘‘

We are impressed with the insightful and efficient advice provided by Withers KhattarWong. They have a keen sense of Indonesian cross-border projects and combined with a strong understanding of Chinese parties, they provided pragmatic and well-thought-out solutions.

Mr. Hendriyanto, Director of PT PLTG Celukan Bawang

Meet the team

How the team can help

Track record

Great Ormond Street Hospital re-development

Heavily involved in all phases of the development finance and re-development of Great Ormond Street Hospital. The redevelopment will exceed £300 million

University College London Hospitals

Advised University College London Hospitals in relation to a significant property development involving a development company and subsidiary companies and participated in a negotiation for relevant regulatory approvals as well as the establishment in 2013 of the Institute of Sport Exercise and Health<br />

On going work with the Royal Free Hospital

Advising the Royal Free Hospital in relation to the development of a new Institute of Immunology on the hospital site, as well as acting on all aspects of the transaction for the Royal Free Charity as developer and head lessee, including handling the conditional development agreement, funding conditions and providing procurement support

Sport England's framework agreement

Developing a framework agreement and call-off-contract documents for Sport England's specialist design consultancy panel.

Football Foundation's framework agreement

Developing a framework agreement and call-off-contract documents in respect of three procurement exercises undertaken on behalf of the Football Foundation, UK's largest sports charity, and related parties.

€123.5 million loan to finance a hydroelectric power plant

We represented a multilateral agency on a €123.5 million loan to Hrvatska Elektroprivreda DD to finance the construction of a 68MW Ombla hydroelectric power plant at the Rijeka Dubrovacka Bay near Dubrovnik.

Construction and funding arrangements for rural anaerobic digestion facilities

We advised two developers in connection with their construction and funding arrangements for rural anaerobic digestion facilities. Both contracts required the preparation and negotiation of bespoke EPC contract terms, direct agreements and other supporting documents.

International school in Singapore

We acted for a bank in the financing to an international school in Singapore for the construction of an additional building to its existing campus.

SG$98 million construction project

For the construction of a 17 story complex, we acted for a bank in Singapore in the grant of banking facilities of up to SG$98 million.

SGD$87.56 million state land acquisition

We acted for an international school in the financing of SG$87.56 million from DBS to acquire state land, and construct and develop a new school building in Singapore.

€225 million construction financing in Croatia

Advising a syndicate of banks in connection with the €225 million financing for the construction of part of a motorway linking Zagreb to Gorican in Croatia.

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