Richard Outhwaite

Practice Areas

Richard leads Hill Dickinson’s Commercial Real Estate Team for Leeds. He is an experienced real estate lawyer.

Richard has significant experience of advising on development and investment agreements concentrating on inner cities.

Richard has expertise supporting companies in industrial, city developments and retail.

Career

Richard started his training contract in 2002 at Walker Morris in Leeds.

Qualified in 2004 and left Walker Morris in 2013 to join DWF LLP as a partner.

Joined Shoosmiths LLP in 2016 as a partner to help start and grow their Leeds office.

Joined Hill Dickinson LLP in 2022 as a partner to start their real estate practice in Leeds and help grow the Leeds office.

Professional Memberships

Law Society

Personal

In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family and looking after our small holding.

I am trustee and director of Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust.

I am director and shareholder of Sandal Asset Management Limited.

Clients

Richard’s main clients include Deloitte LLP, Fraser Group (Sports Direct, Flannels, etc), Bensons for Beds, Helmsley Group and the Newett Family.

Work Highlights

Acting for the Helmsley on all aspects of a large-scale complex assembly of prime retail and student accommodation sites in the heart of York. The project involves the creation of 250,000 sq. ft of mixed-use retail, leisure, commercial, and residential space along with a riverside walkway and create new public spaces on a sustainable basis. The matter realises a 50-year ambition of the city to reconnect Coney Street with the river and to future proof the heritage of this historic site. The iconic regeneration project will serve as an inducement for further investment into York city centre and the surrounding areas, whilst providing an original and modern template to address some of the current issues facing the UK high streets. The development of the site will deliver much needed student accommodation in the city centre and utilise underused upper floor space. The extensive legal documentation required is tailored to the client and requires a multi-disciplinary input, whilst being sympathetic to the parties involved, including York City Council, York University and various local/national heritage protection organisations. Several key documents have been advised on, including conditional purchase agreements, collaboration agreements, a vacant possession strategy (including surrenders) and a planning strategy, including navigating their implementation through the lifespan of the project.

Purchase of Armley Gyratory and the adjoining training centre from National Grid plc. The site is extremely complex (not only because of its location but also environmentally and legally) and will be redeveloped for a plethora of uses including build to rent. The site is currently occupied by Leeds City Council and there are many easements and wayleaves that cut across the site and therefore the design and layout of the proposed development had to be sensitive to those development constraints. The site also includes an option to acquire further land and overage provisions.

Acting for the Fraser Group for 20 years. The team continue to act on behalf of Frasers Group on an on-going basis and deal with all their portfolio management requirements across all the Frasers Group fascias (Sports Direct, Flannels, Evans Cycles, Game, Jack Wills, Sofa.com, Everlast Gyms, Hugo by Hugo Boss, Tessuti) and the Frasers Group investment portfolio. The team have been long term advisers to Frasers Group and work closely with the in-house legal team and the team of surveyors and agents on a day to day basis. The team have acted on a number of high profile and strategic acquisitions important for the growth strategy of Frasers Group PLC.

Industry Sector Expertise

Development and investment.

Expert in these Jurisdictions

English Law

Languages Spoken

English

Experience

Richard advises across a number of different sectors but has a particular interest in city developments and retail.

Education