Orla Gilligan

Consultant Solicitor - Commercial & Residential Property

About Orla

Orla is a commercial and residential property lawyer in our experienced Property Team.

Orla acts for individuals, developer and investors companies, and trusts in complex residential property transactions. 

In commercial property matters, Orla acts for individuals and small to medium sized business clients, including sole traders, partnerships, and limited companies. She refuses to butter her clients up or be dishonest with them, and if anyone else does she’ll make sure her clients are aware. 

Orla originally qualified as a solicitor in 2001, following a nursing career. She developed keen empathy, focus and attention to detail caring for very ill babies and their devastated parents in a Paediatric High Dependency Unit.

Nowadays Orla applies those skills to her work as a very thorough, client- focused and tenacious commercial property lawyer. She is driven to do the very best she can for all of her clients, and for this reason she maintains a very limited caseload at any given time and handles all matters personally from start to finish. 

Orla believes that as a Solicitor she is under a professional obligation to do her very best and to act in the best interests of her clients, with honesty and integrity. She grew up in a rural part of Northern Ireland, and says she has the skills to spot cow manure and other suspicious behaviour a mile off. She also has the courage to challenge it when it affects her clients’ transactions. She is particularly keen to ensure that her clients understand the ‘process’ of their transactions, so that they can e alert to misinformation received from third parties.

Orla also works hard to make clients aware that referral fees and fee-splitting in the commercial property finance industry will be built into their loan-related costs. She advises them of their rights to question the level of a broker’s administration fees, the choice of legal firm selected by the broker to act on behalf of a lender, and the reasonableness of legal fees being charged by that legal firm. 

Legal Specialisms

• Commercial Property Buildings – sale and purchase of commercial freehold and leasehold buildings

• Development land – including sales, purchases, title-splitting, pre-emption agreements, options and overage agreements acting on behalf of new and experienced developers and investors

• Commercial Property Financing – including commercial mortgages and bridging loans, and advising on debentures and guarantees 

• Commercial and Residential leasehold matters -  including new Leases, Enfranchisement, and right to manage – acting on behalf of Landlords or Tenants 

• Complex residential property transactions - including new-builds, plot sales, title splitting, shared ownership, adverse possession, retirement home leases, and other leasehold transactions.

Legal Expertise In Practice

• Commercial New Build Property - Advised a developer on the creation of a mixed commercial freehold and residential leasehold development forming part of four titles and involving financing, planning requirements, consents for services and access, and negotiating acquisition of a ransom strip. 

• Site Development - Advised developers on CIL, service agreements, planning compliance and third party consents regarding a proposed residential development. 

• Complex residential matters - Advised a farmer who was selling part of his farm and part of a developed site on the farm. The site was jointly owned between the farmer and his deceased wife, and a life trust. A lifetime mortgage was also discharged.

• Commercial Leasehold - Drafted ‘full maintain and insure’ protected and unprotected commercial leases, dealing with commercial lease renewals proceedings for both landlords and tenants.

• New Build Purchases - Advised Mr & Mrs N. on the risks faced in purchasing a house on a poorly designed and build new-build development.

• New Build Sales - Site development and multiple plot sales for a national home builder.

Related Services

Commercial Property >

Construction & Development >

Landlord & Tenant >

Call Orla - 01202 132778

Email Orla - o.gilligan@woodstocklegalservices.co.uk