Ian Hartley

Ian Hartley is a Partner in our Real Estate team based between our Leeds & York offices.

With over 20 years’ real estate practice at national and international law firms based in Leeds, Ian’s experience covers a wide array of sectors and transactions; most notably in  student accommodation, residential, build to rent and hospitality as well as large retail / mixed use, logistics and regeneration schemes. He acts for a broad range of clients, which have included national and international companies and funds, high net worth individuals, as well as local and regional developers, occupiers, investors and funders.

Ian adopts a hands-on, commercial and pragmatic approach to real estate transactions; looking to identify key issues for clients at an early stage and seeking to ensure that each transaction is proactively managed to meet his client’s business objectives. He also was listed as a ‘Rising Star’ Legal 500 2021 and as ‘Highly recommended’ in the Legal 500 2024.

Ian specialises in:

• Development and funding (including forward funding) in a number of sectors, including:
• Student Accommodation
• Build to rent
• Residential (housebuilding)
• Hospitality and leisure
• Landlord & Tenant matters, in particular in the warehouse and logistics, retail, office and hospitality sectors
• Debt financing and refinancing of property assets
• Energy, in particular solar and battery storage development transactions

What are your career highlights so far?

Acting for Land Securities on the acquisition and development of Trinity Shopping Centre, Leeds, including appropriation and CPO of third party interests, lettings of retail and office accommodation and development funding and subsequent investment funding of the completed development.

• Acting for the UK’s largest developer and operator of student accommodation on the acquisition, development and funding of thousands of student accommodation bedrooms throughout the UK.
• Advising on the real estate aspects of the establishment of the Unite UK Student Accommodation Fund, which was the UK’s first investment fund for purpose built student accommodation.
• Advising Capital & Centric on the development of its mixed use scheme at The Goods Yard, Stoke on Trent along with its regeneration of the Civic Centre, Wigan.
• Advising Catalyst Capital and Capital and Centric on the development and forward funding / forward sale of 3 large hotel schemes in Manchester.
• Advising for Ashcourt Group on a number of residential developments and purpose built student accommodation, as well as the development and letting of industrial / logistics sites, quarries and a significant battery storage development.
• Acting for Priority Sites Limited on the development, letting and sale of industrial developments throughout the UK.
• Advising corporate occupiers such as General Electric and Customade Group on their UK property portfolios.

Visit our Real Estate section, for more information on our services, or alternatively, speak to a member of our team on 01484 821 500.