Property Disputes
Property disputes can have far reaching consequences. They can damage relationships, affect health, affect existing business and jeopardise future success. That is why GSC takes a pragmatic approach to resolving your disputes. We help you define what successful resolution looks like, taking a commercial, cost-effective approach to achieving outcomes that work for you and, where appropriate your business.
We advise on all types of property disputes, including landlord and tenant, and have years of experience in dispute resolution – in the courts, at specialist tribunals, or by arbitration, mediation or conciliation. Please refer to our Construction Law page in relation to disputes relating to construction projects.
We provide advice on property disputes at all levels and have acted on some of the most high profile and cutting edge landlord and tenant cases of the last 10 years including the ground-breaking decision of Daejan Investments Limited v Benson and others and, possibly the most important landlord and tenant case in front of the courts in recent years, EMI Group Ltd v O & H Q1 Ltd.
Contact us – we are here to help you.
Leases of Commercial Property
We act for a wide range of landlords and tenants in relation to their leasing requirements. Whether it is acting in relation to a multimillion-pound headquarters building or in relation to a lease to a start-up business, we have a wealth of experience in advising clients on how they can best protect themselves against exposure in the future and strive to have a healthy relationship with their landlord/tenant.
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Hotels, Leisure & Healthcare
The GSC Real Estate team has expertise in the hotel, leisure and healthcare industries.
We work in the hotels and restaurants sector assisting a number of major hotel owners in the acquisition (including financing), construction and development of hotels. We also act for a number of major fast food and coffee shop franchise owners, particularly companies operating large numbers (often 30 to 50), in all their property work, including financing.
Another key sector we specialise in is nursing homes, working for the owners and operators of nursing homes handling all legal aspects of real estate matters relating to nursing homes in this highly regulated sector, including financing.
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Franchises
The GSC team specialises in property advice in the restaurants, fast food and coffee shop sectors assisting in the acquisition (including financing), construction and development of premises. We act for a number of major fast food and coffee shop franchise owners, particularly companies operating large numbers (often 30 to 50), in all their property work, including financing.
Contact us – we are here to help you.
Developing Property
Our real estate department acts for a wide range of clients in relation to their property development work, including household names.
Many developments involve complex structuring, financing and negotiation and require the attainment and/or release of various rights in order to enable the development to process. The advice we are able to provide is comprehensive, including negotiating agreements for lease and leases, dealing with forward funding arrangements, drafting and negotiating building contracts and collateral warranties and dealing with other wraparound issues including rights of light and access and development rights generally. When appropriate we work closely with our Construction Law department to ensure that our clients receive a seamless and complete service.
We have expertise in developments of a wide range of types of property including office accommodation (particularly headquarters buildings), retail units, storage units, hotels, restaurants, public houses and nursing homes.
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Buying or Selling Commercial Property
Our commercial property practice is substantial and we provide a comprehensive service to those acquiring or selling all types of commercial property, including offices, retail and leisure.
Our real estate lawyers have extensive expertise in commercial property transactions and will provide commercial legal advice hand-in-hand with technical advice on how to appropriately protect against exposure in the future.
Our team can also provide advice on the most appropriate vehicle for an acquisition and we often work closely with our Corporate & Commercial department in relation to acquisitions and sales of commercial property involving corporate structures, whether they are companies, partnerships, joint ventures or otherwise.
Contact us – we are here to help you.
Wills – UK and International
A will allows you to provide for your loved ones whilst giving you control over what happens to your money, possessions and property after you die. Some people assume that their assets are too insignificant to need a will, but if you die without having made a will, the intestacy rules will apply in an arbitrary manner. The only way to be certain that your assets pass to the relatives, friends or charities that you intend is by making a will.
Under the present intestacy rules your estate will pass automatically to your surviving family (i.e. spouse, children, parents and siblings) in a prescribed order. Co-habitees who are unmarried and not in a Civil Partnership are not currently recognised by the intestacy rules. Therefore, co-habitees will be left to make a claim on the estate claiming financial dependence if appropriate. If you have children with your co-habiting partner or from previous relationships, then those children will automatically inherit the estate. This means that if you have a partner, both your children and your partner will have to get separate legal representation in order to fight for a share in the estate. This can be a sensitive and costly situation and can be avoided by putting in place a simple will.
Our service
We understand that the drafting of a Will is a sensitive and difficult process and are there to guide clients throughout in order to offer them peace of mind. We advise on tax-effective post-death arrangements as well as suggest lifetime planning such as asset protection structures where appropriate. For further information on our services on lifetime planning please see “Inheritance Tax planning” and “Trust planning”.
Our clients include both UK resident and non-UK resident or domiciled high net worth individuals, families and entrepreneurs with assets located in the UK and often worldwide.
We have particular expertise in the drafting of International Wills to cover multi-jurisdictional assets and non-domiciled individuals. We also work with international clients to make use of double taxation treaties where appropriate.
Our approach is to deliver legal advice of the highest quality that is individually tailored, providing practical solutions to the legal and financial issues surrounding the creation, investment, protection and transfer of private wealth and assets.
Trust Planning – UK and Offshore
GSC private client lawyers have extensive experience in the creation, administration and termination of trusts both in the UK and offshore. We are also able to advise on a variety of other structures such as foundations, private trust companies and purpose trusts which may be more suitable to your needs. We are adept in identifying whether a structure could enable you to meet your goals, and advising on the form such structure should take.
Tax implications
Whilst trust structures historically presented tax advantages, legislation over the past few years has sought to erode such advantages. Trusts are still useful tools for asset protection and wealth preservation. However, we ensure that trust structures are set up effectively to ensure that they are fully tax efficient, taking into account issues of withholding tax and international tax regimes.
Project management
We at GSC adopt a holistic approach to trust planning, and take the time to fully analyse your financial, business and family circumstances to come up with a solution tailored to your objectives and needs. We do not simply provide academic legal advice, but rather take an active role in relation to both the setting up and the ongoing running of the structure. We have strong relationships with onshore and offshore advisors and accountants and are used to ‘project-managing’ various advisers to achieve a streamlined process for the client. We adopt the role of the client’s “trusted advisor” and often co-ordinate all aspects of a family or individual’s legal affairs.
Our clients
We regularly advise founders or “settlors” and their families on wealth management and trust planning structures. We are also experienced in advising both professional trustees, trustees and protectors on their fiduciary duties and general trust management.
Tax Investigations
Defending civil or criminal tax investigations requires highly specialised help from lawyers with experience in handling high level tax fraud investigations.
At GSC, we help companies and individuals who are facing tax litigation, including white collar crime/fraud charges and regulatory offences.
Because this type of work is often international in nature, GSC is well placed to:
- Provide solutions on tax enquiries
- Advise on tax investigations
- Negotiate with tax authorities
- Ensure correct amount of tax is payable
- Assist in making voluntary disclosures of unpaid tax
- Advise on confidentiality issues
- Advise on Legal professional privilege issues.
Tax
We offer strategic personal tax advice to protect our clients’ interests in an increasingly complex regulatory environment and a global drive for tax transparency.
GSC’s tax team is internationally focused. Our clients are highly mobile, business leaders and entrepreneurs based in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, the former Soviet Republics and South East Asia. Meeting their needs requires more than legal expertise; it takes cultural awareness, a global mind set and broad linguistic capabilities. This is why GSC tax lawyers come so highly recommended. They have built up a high degree of expertise in understanding high-net-worth individuals in all tax aspects of corporate, commercial and financial transactions, with a particular understanding of those transactions’ impact on personal tax.
- We provide comprehensive tax planning advice for foreign individuals looking to relocate to the UK
- We advise on the interpretation of double taxation treaties and also on the implementation to enable individuals with multi-jurisdictional assets to benefit most effectively
- We help entrepreneurs realise the sale of their successful ventures in the most tax efficient way
- We advise on most tax efficient structure to own UK property
- We use our cross-border experience and knowledge to develop tax structures for inward investment in the UK and internationally.