Pricing

Pricing information

• Pricing for Conveyancing

  How much do we charge?

  You can find full details of how we calculate our conveyancing charges below. For a quote specifically tailored to your case please call us on 01509 217770 and we can give you a detailed estimate.  

  Our charges are made up of:

  1. our fees for the legal work;
  2. ‘disbursements’ – disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to other people, such as Land Registry fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process; and
  3. for property purchases, Stamp Duty Land Tax (see below).

  Where VAT is referred to below, please note that this will be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

  Our fees

  Our fees depend upon the value of the property you are buying or selling and are listed below:

  Property value	Our Fee (excl VAT)
  Up to £150,000	£740.00
  £150,001 to £250,000	£830.00
  £250,001 – £300,000	£950.00
  £300,001 – £400,000	£1,025.00
  £400,001 – £500,000	£1,175.00
  £500,001 – £600,000	£1,275.00
  £600,001 – £700,000	£1,375.00
  £700,001 – £800,000	£1,575.00
  £800,001 – £900,000	£1,650.00
  £900,001 – £1,000,000	£1,750.00
  £1,000,001 +	£2,085.00 plus 0.1% of extra

  If you are buying and selling a property, then a charge would be made for both the sale and the purchase.  If you are simply re-mortgaging your property then we charge a fixed fee of (Property Value £0-£500,000) £595.00 excluding VAT, (Property Value £500,001–£1,000,000) £795.00 excluding VAT (Property Value £1,000.001 +) £995.00 excluding VAT and an E-Conveyancing fee of £20.00 excluding VAT.

  If you are buying, selling or re-mortgaging a ‘leasehold’ property (rather than a ‘freehold’) then there is an additional charge of £295.00 excluding VAT.  

  Please note that VAT of 20% is also charged on all of our fees or legal work. 

  If, at any point during the transaction, money needs to be sent by telegraphic transfer, we charge a fee of £40.00 excluding VAT per telegraphic transfer.

  If you are buying a property, we will complete the HMRC stamp duty form on your behalf and submit it at the completion of the transaction. For this we charge a fee of £75 excluding VAT.

  Disbursements

  Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties such as Land Registry Fees and Searches. The ‘disbursements’ which you pay will depend upon whether you are buying or selling property or both, whether you are buying a freehold or leasehold property and the location and type of property concerned. Properties in certain locations for example need more searches and checks than others.

  Normally all clients who are buying a ‘freehold’ property will need to pay the following disbursements:

  • Search fees approximately £250.00 excluding VAT

  • HM Land Registry fee HM Land Registry: Registration Services fees – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

  • Land Charges Search £2.00 plus 20% VAT per name

  • Land Registry Search £3.00 plus 20% VAT per title number.

  Depending upon the type of property you are buying and where it is located you may also need to pay:

  • New Build Fee £295.00 excluding VAT
  • Help to Buy ISA/LSA – £50.00 per ISA/LSA excluding VAT
  • Solar Panel Fee – £125.00 excluding VAT
  • Shared Ownership Supplement – £295.00 excluding VAT

  When selling a property, you will ordinarily need to pay the following disbursements:

  • Land Registry Office Copy Entries and Title Plan £3.00 plus 20% VAT per document, per title number

  If the property is a ‘leasehold’ property, then the disbursements will be different and normally consist of:

  • Notice of Transfer fee – This fee if chargeable is set out in the lease. Often the fee is between £75.00 – £150.00 excluding VAT

  • Notice of Charge fee (if the property is to be mortgaged) – £75.00 – £150.00 excluding VAT

  • Deed of Covenant fee – This fee is provided by the management company for the property and can be difficult to estimate. Often it is between £100.00 – £250.00 excluding VAT

  • Certificate of Compliance fee – To be confirmed upon receipt of the lease, as can range between £100.00 – 250.00 excluding VAT

  • Leasehold Management Pack – This fee is chargeable when selling a leasehold property. Often it is between £150.00 – £300.00 excluding VAT each pack

  If you are simply remortgaging then we do not anticipate you incurring any disbursements except for Notice, Deed of Covenant and Certificate of Compliance fees in line with the above for leasehold properties only. 

  Stamp duty land tax

  If you are buying a property you will also need to pay stamp duty land tax. The amount which you need to pay to the government depends on the price of the property.  You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMRC’s website (or if the property is located in Wales by using the Welsh Revenue Authority’s website here.).

  Other costs to consider

  If you have a mortgage on the property or have incurred an estate agent’s fee money we would also typically need to pay the money owed directly to your lender and agent as needed from the sale money we receive for you.

  You should also be aware that if you are purchasing a leasehold property then ground rent and service charges are likely to apply throughout your ownership of the property. We will confirm the ground rent and the anticipated service charge as soon as this we receive this information.

  Examples of our charges

  The table below is a typical example of what charges we would make to the client selling a freehold property for £300,000.00:

  	£	£ VAT
  Our legal fees of £	£950.00	190.00
  Telegraphic Transfer Admin Fee (assuming only one transfer)	£40.00	8.00
  Office Copy Entries	£6.00	1.20
  AML Search Admin Fee (per name)	£10.00	2.00
  E-Conveyancing Fee	£25.00	£5.00
  TOTAL:	£1,031.00	£206.20

  Whereas the table below is a typical example of what charges we would make to a client selling a property for £200,000.00 and buying a new property for £350,000.00:

  	£	£ VAT
  Our legal fees of £	£1,855.00	£371.00
  Search fees
  Telegraphic Transfer Admin Fees	£40.00	£8.00
  E-Conveyancing Fee (sale)	£25.00	£5.00
  E-Conveyancing Fee (purchase)	£30.00	£6.00
  AML Search Admin Fee (per name)	£10.00	£2.00
  Stamp Duty Land Tax Admin Fee	£75.00	£15.00
  Land Registry Fee (assuming benefit of LR online discount)	£150.00	£0.00
  Office Copy Entries	£6.00	£1.20
  Land Registry Search	£3.00	£0.60
  Land Charges Search	£2.00	£0.40
  HMRC Stamp Duty	£5,000.00	£0.00
  TOTAL:	£7,196.00	£409.20

  How long will my house sale / purchase take?

  How long it will take from your offer being accepted to completion will depend on a number of factors. The average process takes between 8 and 12 weeks.

  It can be quicker or slower, depending on the parties in the ‘chain’. For example, if you are a first-time buyer, purchasing a new build property with a mortgage in principle and the transaction goes smoothly it could take as little as 6 weeks. However, if you are buying a leasehold property that requires an extension of the lease, this can take significantly longer, between 3 and 6 months. In such, a situation additional charges would apply.

  What legal work will you be doing for me?

  The precise stages involved vary according to the circumstances. However typically in a property sale we need to do the following:

  • Take your instructions and give you initial advice
  • Receive and advise on sale contract documents where applicable
  • Carry out searches on the property you are buying where appropriate
  • Give you advice on all documents and information received
  • Send final contract to you for signature
  • Agree completion date (date from which you own the property)
  • Exchange contracts and notify you that this has happened
  • Complete the transaction

  Who will be dealing with my matter?

  Your conveyancing transaction will be handled by a trusted member of our experienced conveyancing team.  We have a number of qualified lawyers in the team as well as experienced paralegals specialised in this area of law. Once we know who will be handling your case for you we will introduce you to them and provide you with full details of their background and qualifications.  Full details of the experience and qualifications of our team are available on our website including the types of work normally undertaken. 

  Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised by one of our partners. In this instance

  Jo Showan

  • Solicitor – qualified 2004
  • Head of Property department

  Katrina Greenwell

  • Solicitor – qualified 1986
  • Complaints Partner
  • COFA
  • SRO for CQS scheme

• Pricing for Employment

  Fees for unfair or wrongful dismissal claims

  Unfair or wrongful dismissal claims can vary in complexity from relatively straightforward cases estimated to last up to 1 day in an Employment Tribunal to complex cases involving, for example, allegations of unlawful discrimination linked to the dismissal and where the Tribunal Hearing could last 2 days, 3 days or, possibly more. 

  Our fees for bringing and defending claims for unfair or wrongful dismissal are based on an hourly rate of £275 to £295 plus VAT. We offer a free 30 minute initial telephone consultation in which we can give an estimate of the likely cost of your matter (or explain the further information we need before being able to give such an estimate). Any estimate will be kept under regular review as a case progresses.

  Where VAT is referred to below, please note that this would be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

  We will always consider with you whether you have any relevant insurance to cover your fees.

  Each case will depend, very much, on its individual circumstances and complexity  and we also set out below a series of factors that may make a case more complex. However, below is a general guide to our likely range of fees if the matter were to go all the way to a contested hearing, It is important to remember that the vast majority of cases don’t reach a contested hearing – they are either settled or withdrawn at some stage. 

  Simple case: £5,000 – £7,000 ( plus  VAT) 

  Medium complexity case: £10,000 – £12,000 (plus  VAT)

  High complexity case: £15,000 – £20,000 (plus  VAT)

  Factors that could make a case more complex:

  • If it is necessary to make or defend applications to amend claims or to provide further information about an existing claim
  • Defending claims that are brought by litigants in person
  • Making or defending a costs application
  • Complex preliminary issues such as whether the claimant is disabled (if this is not agreed by the parties)
  • The number of witnesses and documents
  • If it is an automatic unfair dismissal claim e.g. the dismissal follows an employee blowing the whistle on their employer
  • Allegations of discrimination which are linked to the dismissal 

  There will be an additional charge for attending a Tribunal Hearing with a Barrister, if we are required or asked to do so, of £750 – £1,250 per day (plus  VAT);

  Generally, we would allow 1, 2 or 3 days for the Tribunal Hearing, depending on the complexity of your case. 

  Disbursements:

  In addition to our fees, you will also need to budget for disbursements. These are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as barristers’ fees or tribunal/court fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

  If we instruct a Barrister to prepare and represent you at the Tribunal Hearing, their fees could be between £1,250 and £10,000 (plus VAT), depending on the experience of the Barrister, the complexity of the case, how long the Hearing lasts and the amount of documentation.

  Key stages:

  The fees set out above cover all of the work in relation to the following key stages of a claim:

  • Taking your initial instructions, reviewing the papers and advising you on merits and likely compensation (this is likely to be revisited throughout the matter and subject to change)
  • Entering into pre-claim conciliation where this is mandatory to explore whether a settlement can be reached;
  • Preparing a claim or response
  • Reviewing and advising on claim or response from other party
  • Exploring and negotiating settlement throughout the process
  • Preparing for (and attending) a Preliminary Hearing
  • Considering and exchanging documents with the other party
  • Taking witness evidence, drafting their statements and agreeing their content
  • Preparing and agreeing a bundle of documents
  • Reviewing and advising on the other party’s witness statements
  • Agreeing a list of issues, a chronology and/or case list for the final Hearing
  • Preparing instructions to a Barrister to represent you at the final Hearing.

  The stages set out above are an indication and if some of the stages above are not required, the fee will be reduced. 

  You may wish to handle the claim yourself and only have our advice in relation to some of the stages. This can also be arranged according to your individual needs. 

  How long will my matter take?

  Unfortunately, due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is very difficult, at present, to give a meaningful estimate of how long your matter could take.  Employment Tribunals have a significant backlog of cases waiting to be dealt with, as a result of the pandemic, as well as new claims.  Ordinarily, the time that it takes from taking your initial instructions to the final resolution of your matter depends largely on the stage at which your case is resolved.  If a settlement is reached during pre-claim conciliation, your case could take 15 – 30 weeks.  However, if an Employment Tribunal claim is issued and proceeds to a final Hearing, your case could take a year or possibly significantly more than that  given the backlog.  This is just an estimate, however, and we will, of course, look to give you a more accurate timescale, once we have more information and as the matter progresses. 

  Who will be dealing with my matter?

  Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised by one of our partners. In this instance

  Rita Rathod

  • Solicitor – qualified 1987
  • COLP
  • Head of Family department

• Pricing for Wills, Powers of Attorney and Estate Administration

  Uncontested probate price transparency statement

  Our charges: 

  Our overall fees vary depending upon how complex your case is and what you would like us to do. For a free quote specifically tailored to your circumstances please email [email protected] or call us on 01509 217770. We would be more than happy to discuss your case. 

  To give you an idea of how we charge however, and to comply with the SRA price transparency rules, we have set out below details of our fees.

  Our charges are made up of:

  1. our fees for the legal work;
  2. ‘disbursements’ – disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to other people, such as probate application fees. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

  Where VAT is referred to below please note that this will be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

  How much do we charge? 

  Our fees

  Standard probate work 

  Applying for a ‘Grant of Probate’ and collecting and distributing assets in a ‘simple’ matter is the most common type of probate work which we deal with. Namely, where someone has passed away leaving a valid will which is not disputed, the beneficiaries can be easily ascertained and there is not a very large or complex estate to divide up. 

  Our fees for this work will either be agreed with you as a fixed sum at the start of our work together or based on how much time it takes to deal with your case. Our standard hourly rates are £275 to £295 plus VAT for one of our solicitors or Partners.  Normally this sort of matter takes between 15 and 40 hours work at £275 per hour (plus VAT at 20%) to complete. Total costs therefore tend to be in the region of £3,750-10,000 (plus VAT at 20%).  Fixed fees would typically fall within these ball park estimates also. 

  The total costs will depend upon how straight forward or complicated the case is. For example, if someone has died leaving only one beneficiary in an undisputed will and no property, then costs would be at the lower end of the range because it will be simple to administer. If there are multiple beneficiaries, a property and multiple bank accounts however, costs will be at the higher end even if the will is still not disputed. 

  We would still be delighted to work with you in more complicated matters but would need to give you a quotation for the work tailored to your individual circumstances. Please contact us to learn more.

  Disbursements

  Disbursements are payments that we make to third parties on your behalf. These are separate payments for which the estate is liable in addition to our costs as described above.

  Typical disbursements in Probate matters are:

  • Probate application fee, which is currently: £273 plus £1.50 for every extra office copy of the Grant of Probate which you require;
  • Land registry search fees:  £7.20 for one title 
  • Legal notice which requires posting in The London Gazette, and the local paper (this can help protect against unexpected claims from unknown creditors): usually around £250-£300, depending on the local paper.

  Other costs to consider

  Please note that the costs estimates above do not include any additional costs incurred in disposing of estate assets such as the sale of any property or business. 

  How long will this take?

  Generally speaking, ‘simple’ estate matters such as those described above can normally be dealt with within 9 – 12 months. This is broken down into the following stages, with rough time estimates for each stage as follows:

  • applying for the grant of probate: 3 to 6 months (paper applications will take longer)
  • notifying asset holders and place legal notices: 1 to 4 months
  • collecting in and distributing the assets: 6 to 12 months (longer if there is property or a business to dispose of);
  • Preparing the estate accounts.

  Key stages of your case

  The precise stages involved vary according to the circumstances. The guidance on our fees above covers the work in relation to the following key stages a ‘simple’ probate process:

  • Identifying the executors and beneficiaries
  • Checking the type of Probate application you will require
  • Obtaining the relevant documents required to make the application
  • Completing the Probate Application and the relevant HMRC forms
  • Drafting a legal statement
  • Making the application for probate
  • Obtaining the Probate and distributing copies as necessary
  • Collecting and distributing the assets of the estate

  It would not normally be necessary to undertake other work or incur costs other than those described above. However, we would be very happy to provide you with a more tailored quote for all stages of your particular case once we know about your specific circumstances.

  Who will be dealing with my matter?

  Your probate matter will be handled by a trusted member of our experienced probate team.  We have a number of solicitors in the team. Once we know who will be handling your case for you we will introduce you to them and provide you with full details of their background and qualifications.  Full details of the experience and qualifications of our team are available on here including the types of work normally undertaken.   

  Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised by one of our partners:

  Katrina Greenwell

  • Member of LLP / Solicitor
  • Over 20 years dealing with Private Client work
  • Handles Probate matters, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters

   

  Guy Birtwistle

  • Member of LLP / Solicitor
  • Over 20 years dealing with Private Client work
  • Handles Probate matters, Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters

• Debt Recovery

  Our charges:

  Our overall fees vary depending upon how complex your case is and what you would like us to do. For a free quote specifically tailored to your circumstances please email Millie Goddard one of the assistants in this department on  [email protected] or telephone 01509 217 770. We would be more than happy to discuss your case. 

  To give you an idea of how we charge however, and to comply the SRA price transparency rules, we have set out below details of our typical charges.

  Our charges are made up of:

  1. our fees for the legal work; and
  2. ‘disbursements’ – disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to other people, such as fees for bailiffs. We handle the payment of the disbursements on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.

   

  Where VAT is referred to below please note that this will be charged at the applicable rate, which is currently 20%.

  Our fees

  In debt recovery work the legal fees often vary depending upon how much work we need to do to recover the debt. We therefore tend to charge fees for each stage of the recovery process and only charge clients for the parts they need:

  1. Letter before action

   

  A Letter Before Action is a letter which formally demands payment from the person who owes you money (the ‘debtor’). This is the first step for any debt recovery process before starting court proceedings. This stage normally takes 45 days depending upon the nature of the debt.  

  This is charged at a fixed cost of £250 (plus VAT) and includes:

  • Undertaking appropriate searches
  • Sending a letter before action
  • Receiving payment and sending onto you, where applicable

  Some cases may be more complicated and require us to charge on a different basis and may take longer than usual. Contact us for a quote tailored to your circumstances. 

  1. Issue Court Proceedings

   

  If the debt has not been paid following the letter of action, we will draft and issue court proceedings on your behalf. Our standard fees for issuing a court claim are below:

  Debt Value	Court Fee	Our fee	Total
  Up to £5,000	£35.00 – £205	£500 – £600 (plus VAT)	£635 – £925
  £5,000 to £10,000	£455	£1,250 – £1,500 (plus VAT)	£1,955 – £2,255
  £10,000 to £50,000	5% value of the claim	£1,750 – £2,000 (plus VAT)	£2,600.00 – £4,900

  Court fees do not have VAT.

  This stage normally takes 42 – 56 days depending upon the nature of the debt.  

  Some cases may be more complicated and require us to charge on a different basis and may take longer than usual. Contact us for a quote tailored to your circumstances. 

  • Enter Judgement

   

  If there is no response, we may be able apply to the Court to ‘obtain Judgment’ for you. This means you would have a court order which you can enforce to reclaim your money because the claim was not responded to. Our fees would be:

  Value of Claim	Our Fee
  Up to £5,000	£150 (plus VAT)
  Over £5,000	£150 (plus VAT)

  If we are successful in obtaining judgment for you but payment is still not received then we will advise you on the next steps at that time, such as enforcement action and what the likely costs would be (see below).

  This stage normally takes 7 – 14 days depending upon the nature of the debt.

  Some cases may be more complicated and require us to charge on a different basis and may take longer than usual. Contact us for a quote tailored to your circumstances. 

  • Claims over £50,000, Defended Claims and more complex cases

   

  If the value of your claim is over £50,000 or a debtor submits a defence to your claim or the case is otherwise more complicated, we will normally charge you an hourly rate for the time which we spend on your case. The hourly rate depends upon the experience of the fee earner handling the matter:

  Fee Earner	Hourly Rate
  Partner/ Director with 8 years post qualification experience (‘PQE’)	£295 (plus VAT)
  Solicitor with more than 10 years PQE	£275 (plus VAT)
  Solicitor with less than 10 years PQE	£250 (plus VAT)
  Trainee/Paralegal	£150 (plus VAT)

  Timescales for defended and more complex cases are more difficult to predict. Sometimes matters can be resolved within a matter of weeks but others can take much longer. Contact us for more tailored guidance on your circumstances.

  Disbursements

  You will need to pay for ‘disbursements’ in addition to our costs as described above. In a debt recovery matter the most common disbursement is the Court fee and the cost for these are listed above. If we need to go to Court then a barrister (sometimes called ‘Counsel’) is often used to deal with the hearing. This is not common. Barrister’s fees tend to be in the region of £2,000 per day. We will however guide you on this as and when such costs need to be incurred.

  Who will be dealing with my matter?

  Regardless of who is working on your case the matter will be supervised by one of our partners. In this instance

  Rita Rathod

  • Solicitor – qualified 1987
  • COLP
  • Head of Family department