Holmes & Hills LLP

Firm Details:

Managing Partner: Steven Hopkins and Rebecca Mason

Number of partners: 12

Total staff: 200+

Contacts:

• Planning: Steven Hopkins
• Development and Land: Rebecca Mason
• Construction: Sam Bawden

THE FIRM:

Holmes & Hills Solicitors provides specialist legal advice and representation to businesses, a significant number of local authorities, and individuals across the South East and East Anglia, covering a broad range of service areas. The firm is independently recognised as being a leading source of contentious and non-contentious legal advice and representation in matters concerning property, land, development, and construction. Such is the firm’s reputation in planning and development matters that Holmes & Hills has, by request of the publishers, contributed to the Precedents issue of Planning Law: Practice and Precedents, since 2015.

PRINCIPLE AREAS OF WORK:

Holmes & Hills is a leading regional supplier of legal advice to clients involved in complex matters concerning property, land, development, and construction. Specialist solicitors from the firm’s planning and development, litigation, and commercial property teams provide strategic legal advice to clients on a wide range of complex issues and projects including strategic planning; planning appeals; S106 Agreements; planning inquiries; advocacy at planning appeals, and hearings in the Magistrates, Crown and County Courts; statutory challenges and Judicial Reviews.

As well as expert advice on Planning Law, Holmes & Hills has teams of specialist solicitors representing clients in relation to the full range of matters concerning development and construction. The firm’s expertise and experience in these fields covers representing clients on the acquisition and disposal of land for development, development agreements (option, joint-venture, consortium, and promotion), and development finance, as well as construction contracts and disputes, including adjudications.

Holmes & Hills is well-positioned to provide specialist advice covering the full spectrum of legal issues faced by developers, landowners, main contractors, sub-contractors, and professionals linked to these parties and industries.

The firm’s Planning Law Department is notable for its ability to bridge the gap between planning law and property litigation matters, this experience being provided by partners Steven Hopkins and Michael Harman. Holmes & Hills’ Commercial Property Department, led by development and land specialist, Rebecca Mason, also a Partner, is one of the largest in the region and acts for a material number of regional developers and landowners with significant holdings. Rebecca is regularly advising on the negotiation and drafting of complex development agreements with a focus on methods of securing payment. Rebecca’s advice is strategic in nature, ensuring delivery of the legal arrangement and agreement most appropriate given the characteristics of the land itself, as well as the client’s circumstances in terms of finances, liquidity, and desired revenue and profit timeframe, as well as their other ongoing projects. Following the provision of such early advice, Holmes & Hills’ commercial property team often works closely with planning consultants within their professional network to maximise asset values for clients.

RECRUITMENT:

Holmes & Hills has grown rapidly since 2020 following opening its sixth office and new regional base in East Anglia - the A12 Commercial Hub in Marks Tey, Colchester and its seventh office in Witham in 2023. Recruitment has focused on growing the firm’s teams of Construction Law specialists, Planning Law specialists, and its Commercial Property Department.

CLIENTS:

Holmes & Hills specialises in advising developers, independent land owners, consortiums of land owners, main contractors, sub-contractors, construction professionals, planning consultants, architects, and surveyors.