Elizabeth Lee

Elizabeth qualified as a Solicitor in 2007 after training with a regional firm spending time working across their Norwich and London offices. She joined the commercial real estate team at Birketts in June 2010 as a solicitor working on all types of commercial property transactions including secured lending.

Since 2018, Elizabeth has led our real estate finance team in the Norwich office. The team primarily acts for banks and specialist lenders in taking security over commercial, mixed use and residential buy to let properties across England and Wales. This work incudes both bridging and longer term finance.

Elizabeth’s real estate finance work includes advising both specialist lenders and high street banks on facilities secured against investment properties and development sites varying from small business loans to multi-million pound facilities. This involves undertaking due diligence on property assets and the preparation and negotiation of loan and security documentation and undertaking property due diligence. Elizabeth also acts for property investor clients in funding their acquisitions and refinancing their portfolios.

The real estate finance team work with national network of brokers and financial intermediaries and have particular experience in working to strict service level arrangements and strives to always add value to our relationships.

The team has particular experience in working with lenders using lender indemnity insurance policies to back their loans and reduce due diligence on a volume basis and can support lenders who are looking to implement this on their transactions. Elizabeth works closely with our banking team and corporate team and acts for a number of different lenders on national panel appointments to provide property finance advice. This often involves leading teams to (re)finance existing portfolios in a short timescale. Elizabeth’s familiarity with lender’s requirements and the market means that she is also well placed to assist borrowers who wish to proceed quickly.

Elizabeth is one of the firm’s Early Careers Partners.