The surprising revelation was shared with local businesses and property professionals who attended a seminar hosted by Lloyds TSB Corporate and solicitors Charles Lucas & Marshall on current issues affecting the property sector.

The seminar at The Donnington Valley Hotel provided opinions on key factors impacting upon property investors as well as tailored funding options and hedging expertise to manage net returns.

Hugh Ellins, commercial property partner at solicitors Charles Lucas & Marshall, spoke about delays in the planning system and recent issues which were posing problems for both developers and property investors.

“These tariffs are supposed to contribute towards infrastructure costs such as highways improvements but we have handled recent transactions where tariffs, even for properties such as one bedroom apartments, can add an extra £8k to the final price.”

Hugh Ellins also warned commercial developers to think twice about developing a site without some form of guaranteed interest from external investors.

While the buy-to-let market had levelled out, Hugh Ellins said he still believed it was an attractive investment option simply because the price of first-time buyer property was so high that many people had no other option but to rent.

Helen Hanna, Senior Manager at Lloyds TSB Financial Markets Division in turn addressed the issue of how property developers could mitigate or protect themselves against a variety of risks.

“Whilst it is difficult to completely neutralize operating and market risk, as they are at least partly determined by factors beyond a business’ control, it is possible to completely protect against financial risk. Risk management is vital for any organisation, yet all too frequently businesses fail to consider strategies that effectively manage the impact of changing interest rates to protect their bottom lines and profits.

For more information contact Hugh Ellins on 01793 511055 or hugh.ellins@clmlaw.co.uk