As a director in the Residential Development team, I specialise in all aspects of complex instant and strategic development work. I joined Wragge & Co in 1998 and now act for a variety of leading national housebuilder clients on a wide range of acquisitions and disposals.

Tel: +44 (0)121 629 1908

Email: edward_colreavy@wragge.com

Best brains in...

Advising on complex conditional land acquisitions and disposals. I have particular experience of structuring deals and negotiating standalone and equalised option agreements, promotion agreements, site assembly projects, conditional and unconditional land purchases, land disposals, pre-emptions and overage.

Highlight of your career so far?

Advising a top-five national housebuilder, over the course of several years, on the re-development of a contaminated 50-acre brownfield site in the South East. The instruction involved working with adjoining landowners and effecting several land disposals to other developers and housing associations to create a community of 1,000 new homes alongside a newly-constructed canal marina.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

The negotiation of a complex land access agreement on behalf of a household name in the residential market. It was pivotal in unlocking the development potential of up to 10,000 new homes in the South East as part of a major urban extension. The agreement involved multi-layered overage arrangements and a structure of rolling ransoms to facilitate the draw down of the development site over several years.

What about outside the UK?

Although the majority of my work involves acting for UK-based clients on UK-based land deals, I get involved in cross-border transactions. I was part of the team which advised Miller Homes on the property aspects of its £264 million purchase of Fairclough Homes from US-based Centex.

Give an example of great client service

This very much depends upon the individual client and transaction, but I believe that adding value involves first ascertaining your client's expectations, and then exceeding them - convincingly. One example of this was leading a team of lawyers, on very short-notice, to finalise the due diligence requirement of a significant corporate acquisition by a top-tier housebuilder client – and finishing in time to hear the champagne corks fly.

How do you get under the skin of a client business?

I am a great believer in spending time with clients – both within and outside their working environment. It helps you understand not only the way in which they operate, but also the stresses and strains which they face day to day. Only once you have acquired that knowledge can you truly offer tailored advice in a format which will be well received.

What's your single greatest contribution to Wragge & Co's corporate responsibility?

I facilitated Wragge & Co's sponsorship of a Cancer Research charity dinner which was organised by one of our key clients. I am pleased to say that due to its success there are already plans in place to repeat the evening in forthcoming years.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

I have been described by the legal director of one of my main clients as a hard-working strategic thinker. That was very complimentary, and I hope represents my general approach to transactions as a development lawyer.