Stephen Morris

Steve co-leads Acuity’s award-winning Real Estate team alongside Gareth Baker.

Steve enjoys an impressive reputation for advising on high-value property-backed financings and was named as one of the most influential people in property and construction in the Wales Insider Media Property Power List 2022. He is ranked by both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners.

Working with a portfolio of both developers and lenders, Steve is well-known for his strong technical skills and extensive market knowledge. He has a specialism in large-scale real estate projects encompassing elements of structuring, finance, planning and procurement.

A well-established general development lawyer for both commercial and residential schemes, his clients include major local and national developers, investors with portfolio management needs, technology giants, financiers, public and third sector organisations. He acts for such names as Sony, Lloyds Banking Group, Principality Building Society, Hodge Bank and West Sussex and Wolverhampton County Councils.

In recent years, Steve has led teams on some of the largest, highest profile property deals in London and South Wales, including acting for a major Cardiff developer in the development, construction and letting to the BBC and HMRC of their new Welsh HQs, and the new Welsh Valleys HQ of the Department of Work and Pensions. He continues to act on some of the largest deals in Wales and around the UK.

Steve has played a key part in the growth of the Acuity Law Real Estate team. He is noted for his client-centric approach, and his ability to analyse a multitude of complex interlocking issues across a wide range of disciplines are often key reasons why clients instruct him.

Steve regularly hosts seminars and workshops in England and Wales on planning matters and delivers lectures for RICS Wales and the Brownfield Land Wales conference.

Expertise:

- Commercial property deals and transactions – acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold land, landlord and tenant, placing of security, securitisation of assets

- Real estate development projects – from site assembly to land acquisition, site due diligence, procurement, finance and advice on planning applications and appeals.

- Complex land assembly and split financing projects

- Property finance – negotiation of forward funding and property development finance agreements, drafting of security agreements, collateral guarantees, and complex facility arrangements

- Planning – from assessment of the site and application process through to negotiation and drafting of detailed planning agreements (including viability and affordable housing delivery) with advice on divergences between England and Wales in statute and policy

- Insolvency and effect on ownership of property – protecting tenanted properties