Real Estate Development

Developers, land promoters, investors and landowners come to us for our expertise, commerciality, responsive service, depth of specialism and value for money. Our specialist development lawyers can support you and provide a tailored service on all aspects of property development.

Photo of our Head of Development team, James Simpson.

Key contact

James Simpson

I deal with a wide range of issues including development, investment, landlord and tenant, and funding work. My particular focus and experience lies in residential development, strategic land transactions, complex collaborations, and Joint Ventures.

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Meet the team

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Experts in property development

Our property development team understand that development can be complex and difficult to navigate at times. We have a dedicated team who can guide you through the various issues that can arise on projects and whose focus will be on helping you to complete your project in a cost-effective way on time, while providing pragmatic and commercially-sound advice.

It’s in the team’s DNA to think laterally and to  communicate clearly with you and your other consultants, looking at your project holistically and providing the right specialists for your project. Where appropriate, our core real estate development lawyers work alongside specialist colleagues where appropriate in areas as diverse as planning, corporate, construction, banking and agriculture.

As property development specialists we can anticipate issues early on and identify solutions that are both practical and commercial before they cost you time and money. In a market where there are always challenges, it pays to use lawyers who provide flexible, transparent and tailored advice to meet the specific needs of each client.

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Working with our real estate development clients

Our property development team acts for developers, land promoters, housing providers, landowners, and property portfolio owners of all shapes and sizes – both in the public and private sectors.

Clients include a national regeneration agency , one of the largest private house builders in the country, established building contractors, well-known funders of development projects and numerous high profile education establishments which are regularly involved in development projects.

Whether it’s acquisition or disposal, land promotion, joint ventures, planning, construction, plot sales or development finance, we’ll work with you as part of your extended team, keeping your commercial aims in mind, and helping you achieve them.

Services from our Real Estate team

Recognition of our work

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Hear what our clients say about us

Laura has lots of experience and is incredibly committed to doing the best job possible for her clients.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Gemma is an exceptional planning lawyer, with impressive knowledge of legislation, case law and its implications.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Marc is very responsive, client-focused and pragmatic in giving advice to achieve the intended outcome.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

James is remarkably calm and very solid. He provides a very valuable service and I trust his judgement.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

Colin has provided a comprehensive and supportive service to the organisation, demonstrating a significant depth of knowledge and experience in his field.

Client testimonial Chambers 2026

The team is knowledgeable, flexible, very engaging and highly responsive. They took care to understand our needs and priorities, gave well considered guidance, and looked after our interests while being pragmatic and enabling progress. They were tenacious in progressing challenges, and diligent in following up.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Helen Mutucumarana is the partner who led on our project, and I cannot speak highly enough of her approach. Helen was always prepared to make herself available, was forthcoming with advice and knowledge, and I especially appreciated her dedication in chasing down responses from the other party.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

Helen Mutucumarana – commercially astute, hardworking and responsive, Helen is very experienced and highly regarded – an exceptional property lawyer.

Client testimonial Legal 500 2026

National head of property development James Simpson and head of the Cambridge commercial real estate group Helen Mutucumarana, who has specialist experience in the life sciences, biotechnology, technology, media and emerging tech markets, are recognised leaders in their fields.

The Legal 500 2025 Real Estate

The Legal 500 2025 said “HCR Law continues to expand its team in Cambridge, as it cements its place in the elite group of local firms” and that the Cambridge Real Estate team “knows the UK property market inside out”.

The Legal 500 2025 Real Estate

Caitlin has supported us through a transfer of land from our neighbours property and she has been so helpful.

Any time we sent an email checking in for an update she quickly responded with all the actions she had taken. She has been really helpful and proactive throughout the whole process despite the land registry taking so long.

It has been a pleasure working with her!

Client Testimonial Land Transfer

We’d like to thank Tom Matthews at HCR Law for his exceptional support throughout these transactions.

Tom has consistently gone above and beyond, successfully dealing with every curveball that came our way.

Cornerstone Finance Group Client testimonial

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