Firm Profile
Drew and Napier LLC's Real Estate Business Group has been engaged in all aspects of conveyancing and property law since the inception of the firm. Our Real Estate team is at the forefront of development in the property market. We act for retail consumers, corporate groups, statutory boards and financial institutions in real estate transactions involving residential, commercial and industrial properties. Although real estate invariably forms a substantial portion of the assets of most individuals or even corporations, transactions involving high valued real estate would usually be structured in share transfer rather than a pure transfer of real estate by reason of the high taxation pegged to real estate transactions. The Real Estate Business Group works as a team with the Corporate and Finance Department in the structuring and execution of transactions involving real estate.
WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED
The Real Estate Practice Group has been regarded as one of the better established in Singapore. Its expertise is recognised in leading international legal directories:
- Asia Pacific Legal 500 has ranked Drew & Napier’s Real Estate practice as a leading practice for 10 years. Its 2009 version writes, “Drew & Napier LLC has broad and deep expertise in both contentious and non-contentious real estate and construction matters.”
- Drew & Napier was named Real Estate Law Firm of the Year by Asian Legal Business at the SE Asia Law Awards 2008.
- AsiaLaw Profiles 2010 ranked the Group as a leading practice in Singapore.
OUR CAPABILITIES
Our Real Estate Business Group is also actively involved in the development of property law in Singapore and process in the areas of practice involving real estate. Our lawyers are active in the Law Society and participate actively in discussions and exchanges with the Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore, the Association of Banks, the Ministry of Law and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore in the development of property law and re-engineering of the process of real estate transactions. Commercial and Industrial Property The Real Estate Business Group has an active industrial and commercial property practice which is responsible for handling commercial development projects, commercial leasing for offices and en bloc sales.
The Group's clientele includes corporations, financial institutions, statutory boards and private individuals. Real Estate Financing and Consumer Banking With the provision of real estate security for banking facilities, consumer banking and real estate financing are closely related areas of practice. Our lawyers are highly experienced in legal services for property-related consumer banking products. Residential Property We act for private individuals in the sale, purchase and leasing of private property. To complement our conveyancing and property practice, our lawyers also attend to clients' needs in areas concerning preparation and execution of wills and probate, and administration of estates.
OUR EXPERIENCE
As a leading practice, we are regularly involved with all matters pertaining to the Real Estate market.
Some of these include:
- Acting in the acquisition and mortgage of Dormitories in the transactional value of S$79 million.
- Acting for the Landlord of the development Knightsbridge in its lease of its retail outlets.
- Acting for the Landlord (such as Keppel Land International Ltd) in its lease of its office and commercial units.
- Acting for Banks and financial institutions, over 2,000 individual clients and property development companies.
- Acting for purchasers/ sellers of JTC industrial property.
- Acting for the developer of CHIJMES, a conservation/ restoration development featuring commercial and retail outlets and a monument.
- Acting for sellers in numerous collective “en-bloc” sales including the first such transaction in Singapore and the largest to date, both in terms of the number of sellers and the value of the land.
- Development of new banking products for clients and drafting of the credit and security documentation for such products.
- Surrender of Bukit Timah Race Course and the Lease of Kranji Race Course and other lands.
- Tender of part of real estate portfolio of the British Government.
- Representation of Developer of Mixed Development.
- Handling legal work relating to combined commercial and residential development, including applications for approvals, subdivision and separate titles and preparation of sale and purchase agreements and leases.
- HDB Shoplease Financing Scheme when it was first launched.
- Preparation and registration of Memoranda of Mortgage and drafting standard Terms and Conditions governing secured loans for financial institutions.
- Statutory Vesting of Various Parcels of lands in Singapore.
- Representation of Statutory Boards (eg. Singapore Totalisator Board in transactions valued in excess of $3 billion, The Central Provident Fund Board).
- Acquisition and Divestment of Land, Commercial and Industrial Buildings by local and foreign companies, funds, etc (eg. acquisition by New Star Asset Management (Bermuda) Ltd in transactions valued in excess of $128 million).
- Enbloc Purchase of Condominiums for HPL Properties, Pontiac Land Group etc. in transactions valued in excess of $439 million.
- Representation of Foreign Governments and Royalties (eg. British Government in transactions valued in excess of $50 million and Malaysian royalty in transactions valued in excess of $1 billion).
- Acquisition, Divestment, Lease of industrial properties (from Jurong Town Corporation, Ascendas, etc) and handling 'change of use' applications and negotiations (eg. For biomedical US Company in transaction valued in excess of $145 million).
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