Property Shapers

For property investors, the choice of lender can have a material impact on how quickly a deal moves and how it is structured. Debt funds can offer greater speed, flexibility and leverage than traditional banks, but usually at a higher price and with different risks. This Property Pulse looks at when a debt fund may make commercial sense and what investors should consider before choosing a lender.

Growth in the UK defence sector is creating demand for everything from secure R&D facilities to manufacturing and logistics space, but conventional property arrangements do not always accommodate the sector's requirements. James Slinger and Megan Simpkins consider the challenges around landlord appetite, security requirements and lease flexibility, and what defence occupiers can do to avoid property becoming a constraint on growth.

Changes to employment law will increase risk and potentially cost for real estate employers, particularly around dismissal, trade union involvement and workplace harassment. Harriet Willis looks at three areas businesses should be preparing for and the practical steps property owners, developers and investors can take now.

The Law Commission's consultation on modernising security of tenure looks at an important part of the landlord and tenant landscape. This piece considers the proposals and what reform could mean for the commercial property market.

Safety is now explicitly part of national planning policy when individual development proposals are considered. Nicholle Kingsley looks at the change and asks whether safety should be considered earlier, when decisions are being made about how places themselves are planned.

Mishcon de Reya advised Cynergy Bank on a £20.3 million mixed-use portfolio financing, supporting the bank on its latest lending transaction in the property market.