Jim Houston

• Commercial, industrial and residential property
• Landlord and tenant
• Asset purchases and company takeovers
• Property due diligence for banking and finance

• Advised Titanic Quarter Limited in relation to its development opportunity at Queens Island Belfast, currently the foremost waterfront development in the UK. This has included leading teams advising on the following developments:
  • The Abercorn Residential/Retail/Hotel complex
  • The Gateway Offices complex
  • The PFI project for the construction of the new Belfast Metropolitan College
  • The new Public Records Office for Northern Ireland
  • The landmark signature building Titanic Belfast, which opened in 2012 on the centenary of the loss of the S.S. Titanic
  • The Titanic Studios, the location for filming of the Game of Thrones series
  • Titanic Exhibition Centre
  • The boutique hotel forming part of the original Harland and Wolff drawing offices
  • The release of 475 apartments at the Abercorn Residential complex
• Acted for Allen & Overy and Baker McKenzie in the negotiation of their respective office leases in central Belfast, providing both organisations with some general guidance on the setting up of their respective Northern Ireland operations
• Acted for various GB investors in their Northern Ireland acquisitions, including for Intu Properties in their acquisition of Sprucefield Retail Park, for Threadneedle Investments in the purchase of a major office development in central Belfast, and for Scottish Widows in its purchase of Tescos Newry, the largest Northern Ireland property transaction of 2013.
• Acted for Belfast-based property investment and management company, Causeway Asset Management in a historic deal that saw the completion of one of the UK province’s largest ever office lease transactions.
• Acted for Allen & Overy in the re-gear of the leases under which they occupy the landmark Obel Building at Donegall Quay in the centre of Belfast.
• Advised Straben Limited in the leasing of a total of 36,000 square feet of commercial office space at Adelaide Exchange Belfast, including the leasing a 20,000 sq feet unit to Bespoke Managed Space.

Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.

Recognised as a Leading Individual by the Legal 500 2018 for Northern Ireland: Commercial Property

Recognised for expertise in Northern Ireland Business Tenancies legislation and commercial lease rent reviews and has lectured on these subjects to the RICS in NI.

Recognised as a leader in Northern Ireland Real Estate in the Legal 500 (a “joy to work with”, according to the 2015 edition) and in Chambers UK.