Omotola Balogun Consultant Real Estate Solicitor

Tola is a Real Estate lawyer with over 12 years’ experience in all aspects of residential property, landlord & tenant, commercial real estate, property development, and property portfolio management.

Prior to joining Setfords, Tola trained and qualified as a Solicitor with a top 40 UK law firm where he worked for over 7 years. He then worked with two top 50 UK law firms, before joining a Legal 500 UK law firm as a Senior Associate.

Expertise

Residential Property:

• Freehold and leasehold sales and purchases, with a particular focus on new-build residential properties
• Shared ownership sales and purchases, including Do-It-Yourself-Shared-Ownership (DIYSO)
• Shared equity (Help-to-Buy) sales and purchases
• Transfers of Equity and matrimonial transfers
• Title Splitting to create freehold or leasehold titles
• Re-mortgages
• Right to Buy purchases
• Auction sale and purchases (residential)
• Unregistered land and first registration
• Lease extensions, Deeds of Variation, and Deeds of Surrender & Regrant of Lease

Commercial Property:

• Acquisitions and disposals of commercial property
• Commercial leases
• Sale and purchase of development property/land, with or without conditions (including multiple plot sales/purchases at Golden Brick)
• Option Agreement
• Deed of Easement
• Auction sale and purchases (commercial)

Landlord & Tenant:

• Drafting new leases, and lease renewals, in accordance with changing legislation
• Asset portfolio management
• Wayleave Agreement
• Lease extensions and Deeds of Variations
• Licences (to alter, underlet and assign)
• Enfranchisements

Tola commits to negotiating the best possible agreements and solutions for clients, whilst providing timely advice to save costs. His clients commend his ability to target the crux of matters very early, to avoid delays and provide a tailored personal service.

Tola is based in London but acts for clients throughout the UK.

Experience Highlights:

Residential Property:

• Acted for a large London based asset management company on a phased purchase of 180 residential properties over 24 months, and simultaneous lease to a Local Authority to provide social housing and affordable key worker accommodation.
  
  
• Acted for a client on a purchase of 27 plots at ‘golden brick’ from Persimmon Homes for £3.3m, and acted for another client on a purchase of 65 plots at ‘golden brick’ from Keepmoat Limited for £9.1m.
  
  
• Acted for a London Local Authority Trading Company on their phased purchase of 135 high-street residential properties (some with building safety regulation concerns), a deal worth £38m, the transaction being part of a larger project to acquire a further 300 properties over 3 years for the Local Authority’s social housing stock.
  
  
• Acted for a client on the volume sale of high-value leasehold residential properties in a Grade II listed mansion block at No. 8 Eaton Lane, Belgravia overlooking Grosvenor Gardens, and at No. 18 Porchester Gardens, Bayswater London, which involved a complex lease structure linked to an existing Deed of Easement and Side Agreement to share amenities and facilities (including swimming pool, spa, and parking spaces) with the neighbouring hotel The Whiteley & Six Senses London.
  
  
• Acted for clients in a joint venture on off-plan forward sales of 320 apartments at Ealing Road to overseas and UK-based investors, and to owner-occupiers purchasing under different schemes including help-to-buy and shared ownership.
  
  
• Acted for a large private developer on the off-plan sale of new-build apartments in a 75-storey mixed-use tower building comprising 984 homes in Canary Wharf.

Commercial Property and Landlord & Tenant:

• Acted for a tenant on a premises lease for a franchise restaurant at High Street, Colchester, and a wayleave agreement for another franchise restaurant at North Street, Guildford.
  
  
• Acted for a tenant on two leases (subject to planning permission) for their chain of virtual target shooting entertainment bars at Moorgate, London and Piccadilly Arcade, Birmingham.
  
  
• Acted for a buyer on a £1.72m freehold investment acquisition with occupational tenancies in NW London.
  
  
• Acted for a seller on the disposal of a mixed-use building for £4.43m at 648 King’s Road, London.
  
  
• Acted for several landlords on the asset management of commercial buildings – dealing with regular grant of new leases, surrender of leases, lease variations, licences (to alter, underlet and assign) at Smiths Court, London; Waterhouse Street, Hemel Hempstead; Railway Terrace, Kings Langley; Meadowbank Road, Rotherham; Queens Meadow Business Park, Hartlepool.
  
  
• Acted for a tenant on a high-value lease in EC London with a rent-free period, reduced-rent period, and turnover rent. The lease was simultaneous with the tenant’s option agreement to acquire the freehold subject to planning permission.