Significant property wealth needs more than conveyancing — it needs structure, speed and discretion working together. Connaught Law acts for high-net-worth and international investors in UK residential and mixed-use property: prime and off-market acquisitions, ownership structuring with tax advice in the same firm, and portfolios kept compliant as the law shifts under them.
· Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority · Legal 500 · Lexcel
How We Can Help
Prime & Off-Market Acquisitions
Prime central London and off-market transactions run on relationships and pace: exclusivity agreements, accelerated due diligence, exchange within days where the deal demands it. We work alongside buying agents and private banks as the legal arm of the acquisition — thorough where it protects you, fast everywhere else.
Ownership Structuring
Personal names, companies, partnerships or trusts — the right vehicle depends on your tax position, succession plans, liability exposure and lending, and the wrong one is expensive to unwind. Property and tax lawyers in the same firm means the structure and the purchase are designed together, not retrofitted after completion.
International & Non-Resident Investors
For overseas buyers we run the whole UK-entry picture: identity and source-of-funds requirements handled efficiently, the SDLT surcharges that apply to non-residents and additional dwellings, and registration duties for overseas entities holding UK property on the Register of Overseas Entities — with remote execution and time-zone-aware handling as standard. Where immigration is part of the plan, our immigration team advises alongside.
Finance & Refinance
Private bank mortgages, portfolio refinancing and bridging for time-critical acquisitions — we handle security work to lender requirements on single assets and across portfolios, including cross-collateralised structures and intercreditor points that only surface at this scale.
Portfolio & Lettings
Held property earns its keep only when it's compliant and defended. We manage lettings documentation under the new Renters' Rights regime — where possession now runs on section 8 grounds and compliance failures block claims — plus lease extensions and enfranchisement across leasehold holdings, and disputes when they come: covenants, neighbours, defects, service charges.
Discretion & Speed
HNW work is referral work: it depends on confidentiality kept absolutely, availability when the deal moves, and a named senior lawyer who already knows the file. That is the service standard this practice is built on — the same solicitor from first call to completion, reachable directly.
How We Work
Every engagement starts with the whole position — the asset, the structure, the finance, the exit — because at this level the transaction is never just the transaction. Then execution runs to deal pace: due diligence prioritised by risk, exchange when the commercial moment is right, and the specialist input (tax, immigration, disputes) delivered from inside the firm rather than through referrals that leak time and confidentiality.
Why Connaught Law
01Deal-speed executionOff-market opportunities don't wait for standard conveyancing timetables. Neither do we.
02Structure and purchase, togetherProperty, tax and immigration under one roof — the vehicle is right before completion, not corrected after.
03Senior attention throughoutYour matters are handled by our experienced team directly — one named lawyer who knows the whole portfolio.
04Absolute discretionConfidentiality is the baseline of this practice, not a feature of it.
Fee structures are set out on our fees page — agreed clearly at the outset of each matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I buy UK property personally or through a company?
It depends on your tax residence, how long you'll hold, whether the property is let, financing and succession plans — company ownership suits some portfolios and penalises some personal purchases. There is no default right answer; we model the realistic options with our tax team before you commit to a structure.
What extra costs do non-resident buyers face?
Principally SDLT surcharges — for non-residents and for additional dwellings — on top of standard rates, plus ongoing compliance where property is held through an overseas entity, which must be registered and kept current on the Register of Overseas Entities. We quantify the full acquisition cost before you offer.
Can you complete quickly on an off-market purchase?
Yes — with cooperative sellers, days rather than weeks, using prioritised due diligence, search indemnity strategies where appropriate and bridging finance where the timetable demands it. Speed never removes diligence; it reorders it around what actually protects you.
Do you work with buying agents and private banks?
Routinely — we slot in as the legal arm alongside your existing advisers, with direct lawyer-to-banker and lawyer-to-agent contact so nothing waits in an inbox. Referrers keep their client relationship; the client gets one coordinated team.
Building or restructuring a UK property position?
Tell us what you're acquiring and how you plan to hold it. We'll bring the structure, the speed and the discretion — before you commit to anything.
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