September 1 2024 saw the internal merger of our two Housebuilder teams at Birketts (Housebuilder South East and Housebuilder Norwich) with both Steven Kay and Chris Hoxley becoming joint leaders. Having previously held a Q&A session with Steven Kay, we now hear from Chris Hoxley with some anecdotes about his time working in the residential development sector.
Did you always want to become a solicitor?
For as long as I can remember, yes. My mum was a Solicitor and was six months pregnant with me when she was admitted to the roll. She practised for a few years but never went back after having my two younger sisters. I’ve always felt very lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had and have never taken that for granted.
When did you decide you wanted to work on the property side and in particular specialise in residential development work?
I applied to study law at the University of Reading but didn’t quite get the grades and ended up there studying land management before swapping to law a year later. Having very nearly gone down the surveying route, and finding I enjoyed land law, specialising in real estate always seemed the obvious route. Once I started working and began to meet clients, I realised a lot of housebuilders played golf. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t one of the main reasons I ended up specialising in residential development work!
Since being involved in the housebuilder market, has the way you carry out a transaction changed and have the demands of the client changed?
Project management is definitely a skill acquired through experience and, to me, is the difference between a good residential development lawyer and a really good one. I’ve been very lucky to get to know most of my repeat clients well, and have found knowing the way they operate, and the things they are looking for from their solicitor helps no end with updating and reporting to them and managing expectations. Overseeing Birketts’ Plot Sales Team whilst specialising in site acquisition work, I’ve also found knowing what will or might cause issues with plot sales further down to be really useful when dealing with site acquisitions, e.g., title restrictions. Ultimately, I think clients are still looking for the same thing they were 20 years ago – to trust that their solicitor has everything in hand, reports to them on any material developments, and that their work gets done in a timely fashion and on budget.
What is the most unusual transaction you have dealt with?
I’m not sure it’s that unusual, but it was very complex. I recently completed on a purchase of a site for c 1,500 new homes, with my client one of three housebuilders in a consortium buying the site. All three housebuilders were separately represented, and the seller and promoter were also separately represented. It took 18 months to exchange and complete, primarily due to Nutrient Neutrality (NN) – the initial uncertainty about the proposed NN solution, and the eventual NN solution involving third party land and a separate s106 Agreement requiring various supplemental agreements to ensure everything knitted together and worked as intended. The consortium also wanted to contract with a registered provider to acquire the affordable housing across the site at the same time as they contracted to purchase, and the purchase price was partially deferred and secured by way of a legal charge which complicated the partitioning between the consortium (and the onward affordable sales). And to top it all off, the deal became very urgent in the run up to the Autumn Statement, with a lot of late nights and weekends worked. So, a lot of moving parts (and lawyers)!
What is the quickest transaction you have dealt with?
I’ve dealt with a couple of auction purchases where clients have given me a morning’s notice to look over and report on the auction legal pack before the hammer fell. Our Plot Sales Team have also been involved with a few overseas sales events where it has been known for a client to reserve and exchange on the sale of 15-20 off plan plots in a day.
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The content of this article is for general information only. It is not, and should not be taken as, legal advice. If you require any further information in relation to this article please contact the author in the first instance. Law covered as at January 2025.