Opportunity may come just once in a lifetime, so it is vitally important that landowners seek expert advice in securing the right development agreement for their land.
Any such agreement will be determined by a number of factors, depending on the nature and complexity of the particular development. Batcheller Monkhouse have extensive expertise in advising landowners on the correct development agreement to bring their site forward, together with negotiating beneficial terms. There are various types of development agreements, the main types being:
- Promotion Agreements – Under a promotion agreement a specialist land promoter is instructed to pursue a suitable planning permission and is responsible for covering all planning costs incurred along the way. The promoter does not have the right to purchase the site so on the grant of planning it is marketed and sold to the selected house builder. The promoter recoups their planning and promotion costs together with a pre agreed share of the sales proceeds.
- Option Agreements are a legal contract between a landowner and in most cases a housebuilder. A housebuilder will be selected who can demonstrate their ability to promote the site and ultimately secure a planning permission. Following the grant of planning the house builder will have the option to purchase the site through a pre agreed valuation mechanism which is traditionally discounted from the full market value.
- Hybrid Agreement – As the name suggest this form of agreement is a mix of a Promotion and Option Agreement. In common with an Option agreement the selected party is a house builder who will be responsible for securing planning. Phase 1 of the site will be marketed for sale to a 3rd party house builder, Phase 2 will then be purchased by the initial house builder at the same price per plot. This type of arrangement works well on larger sites which can be easily subdivided.
Our specialist team have a wide range of contacts at the major housebuilding companies and land promoters, and are well versed in running tender procedures in order to select the most suitable developer for a site. These agreements have a high degree of complexity, so appointing an agent who can best represent you in these negotiations is crucial. Batcheller Monkhouse offer independent, expert advice to meet all our clients’ requirements.
Please contact a member of our development team to discuss how we can help you.
Offices in Battle, Haywards Heath, Pulborough and Tunbridge Wells.
