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Steve Morris

Partner

Real Estate Team

About
Expertise
Recent Work
Accolades

Steve is an experienced Commercial Real Estate Partner with considerable expertise in large-scale real estate projects encompassing elements of structuring, finance, planning and procurement.
Having joined Acuity in 2005, Steve has been actively involved in the growth of the real estate team.
Steve’s clients include major local and national developers, investors with portfolio management needs, technology giants, financiers, public and third sector.

As a highly regarded commercial property lawyer, Steve regularly advises a number of well-known clients including Sony, Lloyds Banking Group, Principality Building Society, Hodge Bank, West Sussex and Wolverhampton Council, leading a team on some of the largest, highest profile property deals around the UK.

  • Commercial property deals and transactions – acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold land, landlord and tenant, placing of security, securitization of assets
  • Real estate development projects – from site assembly to land acquisition, site due diligence, procurement, finance and advice on planning applications and appeals. Experience in complex land assembly and split financing projects
  • Property finance – negotiation of forward funding and property development finance agreements, drafting of security agreements, collateral guarantees, and complex facility arrangements
  • Planning – from assessment of the site and application process through to negotiation and drafting of detailed planning agreements (including viability and affordable housing delivery) with advice on divergences between England and Wales in statute and policy
  • Insolvency and effect on ownership of property – protecting tenanted properties
  • Drafting and negotiating the development, construction and letting of the new BBC Wales headquarters
  • Advising on the procurement and delivery of a £150m school, sports academy, and residential development in South London
  • Drafting and negotiation of package of documents for the development, construction and letting to HMRC of its new South Wales headquarters in the largest property deal in Wales
  • Leading a team in the development, construction and letting to Department of Work and Pensions of its new South Wales valleys HQ
  • Lead lawyer on the redevelopment of Cardiff’s International Sports Village, a £500m residential and leisure project delivered over several years on reclaimed land in Cardiff Bay
  • Advising on and drafting the funding documentation for the redevelopment of a former paper mill into a 53 acre 800 home urban village with 50% affordable housing
  • 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
  • Providing planning advice to a client in the sale of part of a £50m investment fund property portfolio to residential property developers
  • Acting for a University in a new £300m waterfront campus and technology development
  • Acting for the UK’s sixth largest building society, Principality, 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
  • Advising Incrementum Housing Development Company, a delivery vehicle set up by Warrington Council to deliver housing developments of 161 homes across two sites across Warrington
  • Acted for Bluestone Resorts in the amendment and restatement of its facility with Barclays Bank prompted by the Covid-19 crisis
  • Named in Insider Media Property Power List 2022
  • Steve is ranked as a Leading Individual in Legal 500.
  • Steve is ranked Band 2 by Chambers & Partners.
  • The Real Estate Team is ranked Band 1 in Chambers & Partners.
  • The Commercial Property Team is ranked Tier 2 in The Legal 500.
  • The Construction Team is ranked Band 2 in Chambers & Partners.
  • The Construction Team is ranked Tier 2 in The Legal 500.
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