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Kate Westlake
Partner
Kate Westlake PP

Kate Westlake is a partner in our Real Estate department in Cornwall.

Kate qualified as a solicitor in November 2016 after gaining a 2.1 degree in LLB Law and a distinction in the Legal Practice Course from the University of the West of England.  Kate trained with the firm and joined in 2013.

Kate specialises in the social housing and marine sectors and undertakes work in a range of commercial property matters including development, acquisitions and disposals of property, commercial leases and licences and charging and security work. Her clients include developers, landlords and tenants, social housing providers and owners of property portfolios.

Typically, Kate deals with:

  • Site acquisitions including options, conditional contracts and development agreements
  • Commercial leases acting for both landlords and tenants
  • Complex refinancing of property or charging of properties or portfolios
  • Complex agreements including overage and pre-emption agreements
  • Buying and selling commercial investment properties and assisting with property owner portfolios.

Examples of Kate’s more recent work includes:

  • Complex refinancing a store for a value of over £50 million
  • Acquiring three retail properties from liquidators in short timescales
  • Assisting a client with a sub-sale to acquire land with planning permission for mixed open market and affordable units for a value of £1.2 million and putting in place overage
  • Charging a portfolio of 250 properties for a register provider for more than £10 million
  • Acquiring 48 properties on a scheme with a conditional contact and development agreement with a value of more than £5 million
  • Sale and lease of a well-known restaurant and bar in Cornwall with a complex turn over rent provision.

Kate’s personal testimonials:

Legal 500 (2024) – Next Generation Partner.

Legal 500 (2023) – Rising Star – “Kate Westlake is always quick to answer my questions and very knowledgeable.”

“I can always rely on Kate to provide excellent and sound legal advice in a very timely manner. We have personally dealt with Kate on numerous matters; buying and selling of land, acquisition of s106 units and her firm regularly deals with our shared ownership sales too. Her knowledge of affordable housing is second to none which helps us to make pragmatic decisions as well as catch and deal with red herrings early to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible. She is always at the end of the phone and provides us with the speed we need when we are up against it with time; nothing says pressure like a Board meeting date or funding deadline! I would definitely recommend them to other RP’s –they are certainly one of our regular go-tos.”

Development Manager, Ocean Housing Limited, April 2021

“We have been working exclusively with Kate and her team for a number of years now, having decided to put all of our eggs in one basket for all of our Shared Ownership plots sales, Right to Buy transactions and disposals of existing assets. We have a great working relationship with Kate and her team and owe the reduction in sales times to their hard work and dedication. They understand internal struggles more than most and do everything that they can to tackle any enquiries raised before troubling us where they can. Kate is always at the other end of the phone when required and is happy to discuss and deal with any issues that crop up. She does this efficiently and in a timely manner, keeping us in the loop throughout. Our Shared Ownership and disposals programme have grown significantly in the past 4 years which would not have been possible without the help of Stephens Scown. Throughout this time the firm have also carried out acquisition and charging work for the company partly due to their excellence in dealing with the sale of the company’s stock. I would certainly recommend Kate and Stephens Scown to any registered provider.”

Coastline Housing Limited, April 2021

“We have used Kate for the last two years on a wide range of matters. Kate is entirely reliable and available when needed which is important to us. Kate doesn’t get phased, even by complex and thorny issues and provides a reassuring calm. We are confident with the advice that is given which always includes practical considerations. Importantly, Kate is enjoyable to work with and we are grateful for the many positive results over the last two years – thank you Kate!”

Harvey Thomas, CEO, St Aubyn Estates, 2021

 

In her spare time Kate enjoys staying active and taking advantage of the coast. Kate particularly enjoys paddleboarding and running.

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