Sally Challinor

Sally is a Partner in our Commercial Property and has 25+ years of commercial property experience working with a variety of clients across multiple sectors and for owners and occupiers whether individuals, corporates or other organisations in health and education.

Sally advises on a wide range of matters including:

• Strategic land acquisitions & disposals
• Promotion agreements
• Options and overages for land owners and developers
• Landlord and tenant asset management
• Commercial refinance
• Corporate support
• Environmental risk and sustainability
• Unregistered Land reviews and first registrations at HMLR

• Advised on promotion agreement for land development for mixed use retail and leisure.
• Guided client on complex contractual arrangements relating to disposal of land conditional on nitrate credits being generated for planning purposes
• Reviewing environmental risk on corporate asset purchase, negotiating proportionate warranties and indemnities and advising clients on ways to mitigate risk, liaising with intermediaries in specialist environmental support including insurers and environmental surveyors and assessors.
• Managing expectations of corporate lender for portfolio purchase of properties by client, liaising with lender solicitors, bringing to completion despite some non-standard title issues.
• Negotiating and completing on urgent retail lease for retail client needing swift opening date to maximise rent free period and give client advantage over competitor tenant.
• Guiding client and working with corporate team on sale of industrial/commercial estate share sale, managing risk and working closely with clients tax advisers.  Several moving parts between corporate, tax, property, environmental and employment. Successfully completed.
• Advised on remediation liabilities following mining lease extraction.
• Advising landlord client on methods to regear existing tenant leases so as to present a tidy portfolio for future and current lenders.

A particular focus since 2009 has been attention to environmental risk not just in the area of contaminated land, but also to support business sustainability and compliance. These areas are becoming ever more relevant and, in some cases, imperative for businesses especially having regard to the increasing need for environmental performance data. Sally is as at home working for larger corporates as she is with individuals and SMEs and enjoys helping them to achieve their environmental aims.

Matters Sally can assist clients with include:

• Business sustainability;
• Environmental permitting compliance in waste and water discharges;
• Brown field development; and
• Environmental nuisance.

In addition to advice on the above, Sally can also provide bespoke training sessions to businesses on commercial property and environmental sustainability topics to suit your business needs.

• Became a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives in 1995
• Attended Nottingham Law School to obtain her postgraduate diploma in legal practice with distinction
• Trained with international firm, Eversheds and qualified with the firm in 2003
• Senior lawyer at several high profile firms including Mills & Reeve where she was promoted to principal associate
• Became Environmental Law Adviser on corporate sales and purchases and then Legal Director at Howes Percival’s Commercial Property Team
• Took the plunge to work freelance which enabled her to run a successful mini business whilst tending to family caring responsibilities for children and parents
• Post Covid Sally took on a remote role with Addleshaw Goddard’s Edinburgh office to support its clients English and Welsh property and environmental needs
• In 2023, joined Leathes Prior as a Partner and enjoys going into the office IRL after years of remote working