PETER LEE

Acted for an Australian company for the sale of its business for approximately $20 million dollars to a listed U.S. company including extensive negotiations with lawyers in the U.S., Brisbane and Melbourne. Drawing substantial business sale contracts dealing with all aspects of a large corporate enterprise including due diligence, financing, adjustments, settlements and a lease of our client’s property.

Assisted client from concept to completion of a large-scale strata title storage facility in Southwest Brisbane.  P.M. Lee & Co. assisted the client to develop the project in stages, preparing off-the-plan sale contracts and disclosure documents including drafting the CMS, all the by-laws, exclusive use areas, management agreements, registration of plans, and finalisation of settlements.  In addition, we assisted in dealings with financiers, construction contracts, foreign investment review board, approvals, taxation considerations and related matters.

Peter has assisted many clients from concept through to completion of broadacre land subdivisions, including negotiating and drafting contracts for acquisition – sometimes using options, but always allowing our purchaser client entry, access, application and planning rights so their projects are well advanced before completion. Working with the surveyors on the design of the project, consideration of the Land Sales Act and providing land sales disclosure documents for off-the-plan land sales together with template contracts for individual lots for pre-sales.  P.M. Lee & Co. has also reviewed and advised on ancillary agreements including construction agreements, financing mortgage, loans, instalment sale contracts and all related issues and assisting the client to complete the sale of lots.

Assisting or being directly involved in property syndications involving many tens of millions of dollars, including purchase, due diligence, the establishment of non-recourse funding and mortgage documentation, town planning approvals and extensive involvement with agreements for lease and leases, structuring sales and all related stamp duty and taxation advice.

Peter has represented many landlords in the acquisition of shopping centres, often with Woolworths or Coles as anchor tenants. We then implemented all template leases and leasing documentation for speciality stores and all ancillary matters including disclosures, variations, surrenders, assignments, consents, and all matters pertaining to leasing including:

• acquisition of large shopping centres and subsequent retail shop leasing act attendances
• acquisition of warehouse and industrial premises
• consideration of environmental laws
• planning approval
• subsequent leasing and sales

Supermarket Advices

Peter represents a large supermarket operator and assists them with respect to new green acre development sites including a selection of sites, consideration of town planning issues, assistance with applications to Council, material change of use, development approvals, building approvals, implementation of same, certificates of classification and negotiating leases.  This included in most cases extensive agreement to lease arrangements to coordinate the construction of the building, construction of the tenants’ fit-out and the interaction between landlords and tenants and their builders in that process while accommodating the requirements of financiers and others.  Thereafter P.M. Lee & Co attended to all relevant registrations including leases, mortgages of the lease, mortgage of business assets, PPSR registration, mortgagees right of entry documents and all related finance documents.

• Town Planning and Building Issues
• Assisting clients and syndicators with the acquisition of property, conducting due diligence and identifying defects. Advising fully informed clients on how to proceed with such acquisitions and discounted offers. Advising of the steps that will be required to rectify problems and assisting them in that process including working with surveyors, engineers, and town planners in:
• material change of use applications
• variation of existing development approvals
• noting non-compliance
• post-construction retrospective approvals of existing buildings
• certificates of classification
• rectifying all such problems for our clients allowing them to re-sell the properties at substantially improved prices on very favourable terms to our client.

Lease Disputes

• As a property law specialist, Peter has extensive experience in all manner of lease disputes including the recovery of arrears, noncompliance with conditions, tenants not maintaining or looking after the property, various Court applications where necessary, terminations, self-help remedies (lockouts). We provide genuine commercially sensible advice to clients on how to minimise their loss and avoid unnecessary costs and complications in difficult circumstances.
• Peter recently (2020) assisted a large chain supermarket client in an outgoings dispute through the District Court, ultimately settled by mediation saving our tenant client many hundreds of thousands of dollars in resisting outgoings overcharges by the landlord over a long period of time.