Raj Flora-Seehra
Senior Associate - Commercial Property
"I am a residential development lawyer and I help landowner and developer clients secure favourable terms on acquisitions and disposals of development sites and longer term strategic land projects.”
I am experienced in all aspects of land disposals and acquisitions, acting for both landowner and developer clients, with a primary focus on residential development.
I also deal with longer term strategic land acquisitions and projects (via conditional contracts, option agreements, promotion agreements and hybrid option/promotion agreements).
Over the years, I have assisted on large scale redevelopment projects of key strategic regeneration sites, procuring development partners for housing regeneration, commercial development and mixed-use projects.
Higgs offers a cradle to grave service to clients, from site assembly through to due diligence, acquisition, development and onward disposal.
Prior to joining Higgs LLP, I gained experience working at two international law firms for just over a decade.
- I acted on a complex conditional land disposal with a value of £18 million, to a national house builder. The deal involved assembling the site, the surrender of an existing Farm Business Tenancy, the express waiver of prescriptive rights claimed over part of the site and associated deed of easement, and dealing with existing overage provisions that affect part of the site. Favourable overage terms were secured in respect of the land in favour of the client and the retention of ransom strips entitled the client to secure further overage in respect of the development of any adjoining land in the future.
- I acted for a landowner client in respect of the conditional sale of a development site to a Housing Association (“HA”). The contract was conditional on obtaining a satisfactory planning permission and the release of covenants and rights restricting development on the part of the site (Phase 2). The contract allows the HA to acquire the Phase 1 land only in the event that all of the Phase 2 land was not released from the covenants and rights. I liaised with the consortium of landowners in respect of the release of the covenants and rights to ensure the Phase 2 land was developable.
- I acted for a developer in respect of the exercise of 21-year-old option agreement and subsequent acquisition of a site, for residential development. Due to various delays in obtaining planning permission and agreeing the land value with the landowner, there were further delays in acquiring the site. The client decided to the sell the site on to a national housebuilder as the delays meant that the proposed development did not fit in with their build programme, which I acted on. I secured favourable terms for the client in respect of a Turn Overage and Net Sale Overage over the development site, and also retaining a ransom strip between the site and adjoining site, in the event that the developer developed the adjoining land in the future. Overall, the client was very happy to put to bed the longstanding Option and acquire the site, and to go on and dispose of the site on very favourable terms.
More about me
My hero
My Daddy
Favourite quote
“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”
Favourite food
Sushi
Favourite place
Ibiza
Latest insights from Raj Flora-Seehra
Meet the team
Cherry Elliott
Partner and Head of Property
Maria Nicol
Principal Associate - Commercial Property
Asim Faraz
Trainee Solicitor - Commercial Property
Jen Hicks-Jones
Partner - Commercial Property
Zahra Farooq
Senior Associate - Commercial Property
Latoyah Thompson
Trainee Solicitor - Commercial Property
Steven Cunliffe
Associate – Commercial Property
Becky Pickering
Associate - Commercial Property
Aman Sahota-Dhatt
Legal Director - Commercial Property
Adele Grove
Paralegal - Commercial Property
Sara Shepherd
Partner - Commercial Property
Sarah Bradford
Legal Director - Commercial Property
Darrell Aldridge
Senior Associate - Commercial Property
James Adams
Principal Associate - Commercial Property