Pricing Guide
Applicable from 1st January 2025
The SRA Transparency Rules require us to provide you with information relating to our costs.
*Unless otherwise stated all fees set out in this document are exclusive of VAT – the current rate of VAT chargeable is 20%*
General matters and matters where it is not possible to provide a fixed cost estimate
In all circumstances, our charges will be calculated mainly by reference to the time spent dealing with the matter. This includes advising, attending on you and others, attendances at Court, considering your documents, dealing with papers, preparation of detailed costs calculations, correspondence, e-mails, telephone calls, attendance and file notes, travelling and waiting time.
Charges are in set at 1/10th of an hour (i.e. units of 6 minutes) and routine communications are charged as one unit.
Hourly rates for other members of staff are:
Directors - £275 per hour
Solicitors & Legal Executives - £275 per hour
Paralegal Staff - £155 per hour
For example, if a Solicitor worked on your file for half an hour this would equate to 5 units at a cost of £137.50 plus VAT.
Please also refer to our Schedule of Fees & Charges from 1st January 2025 which sets out other charges which may be incurred during a transaction.
Residential Conveyancing
You should note the prices included in this guide are not exhaustive and are a guide only.
Sale Costs VAT
Up to £150,000 £650.00 £130.00
£150,000 - £200,000 £700.00 £140.00
£200,001 - £250,000 £750.00 £150.00
£250,001 - £300,000 £800.00 £160.00
£300,001 - £350,000 £850.00 £170.00
£350,001 - £400,000 £900.00 £180.00
£400,001 - £500,000 £950.00 £190.00
£500,001 - £600,000 £1,000.00 £200.00
£600,001 - £700,000 £1,050.00 £210.00
£700,001 - £800,000 £1,100.00 £220.00
£800,001 - £900,000 £1,150.00 £230.00
£900,001 - £1,000,000 £1,200.00 £240.00
Above £1,000,000.00 – please contact us for a bespoke quote
Purchase Costs VAT
Up to £150,000 £750.00 £150.00
£150,000 - £200,000 £800.00 £160.00
£200,001 - £250,000 £850.00 £170.00
£250,001 - £300,000 £900.00 £180.00
£300,001 - £350,000 £950.00 £190.00
£350,001 - £400,000 £1,000.00 £200.00
£400,001 - £500,000 £1,050.00 £210.00
£500,001 - £600,000 £1,200.00 £220.00
£600,001 - £700,000 £1,250.00 £230.00
£700,001 - £800,000 £1,300.00 £240.00
£800,001 - £900,000 £1,350.00 £250.00
£900,001 - £1,000,000 £1,400.00 £260.00
Above £1,000,000.00 – please contact us for a bespoke quote
Other Costs VAT
Equity Release £600.00 £120.00
Re-mortgage £600.00 £120.00
Additions
Additional £300.00 plus VAT to be added for a New Build
Additional £350.00 plus VAT for Shared Ownership
Additional £350.00 plus VAT for Leasehold
Additional £300.00 plus VAT for Help to Buy equity loan release
Disbursements
Disbursements are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties, such as Land Registry. We pay these fees to the third parties for you to ensure the transaction proceeds smoothly.
Some of the common disbursements you will encounter in a property transaction are:-
Standard search fees (e.g. drainage and water, environmental, local authority search) – approximately £300 but vary depending on the type of search requested
HM Land Registry fees – these fees vary depending on the nature of the transaction. Further information on the current fees are on the website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hm-land-registry-registration-services-fees
HM Land Registry title documents
Bankruptcy search fee
On purchases - Stamp Duty Land Tax/Land Transaction Tax may be payable. You can calculate the amount payable on either HRMC website or the Welsh Revenue Authority website. The relevant authority will depend upon the location of the property.
HMRC SDLT calculator – https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax
Welsh Revenue Authority LTT calculator - https://gov.wales/land-transaction-tax-calculator
With leasehold property you will often be required to pay additional disbursements, for instance:-
Fees for replies from the landlord to leasehold enquiries
Fees for covering costs in relation to deeds of covenant and/or consent
Fees for management packs and information where a management company is involved
It is not possible to estimate such disbursements as they vary in each transaction. You should also be away that when buying, for instance, a flat or property which is managed and/or has communal areas you will likely be required to contribute to maintenance etc. by payment of a service charge and/or management fee.
Wills, Probate, Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection matters
Wills
We would normally expect the cost of a basic Will to be in the region of £150.00 plus VAT and the cost of Mirror Wills for couples to be in the region of £250.00 plus VAT. More complex Wills including those requiring Trust drafting will likely cost more than a basic Will.
Additional Inheritance Tax planning and advice is available and would be charged on the hourly rate basis as mentioned above.
We will provide you with a more accurate costs estimate once we have taken your instructions.
Probate
Our expert team are here to provide advice and support in all probate matters including interpreting the Will (where one has been left) or on the Intestacy Rules (where there is no Will) as well as making the application for a Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration and the collecting in and distribution of assets.
No estate is too complex and we will ensure that, at all times, your matter is dealt with the solicitor/lawyer/paralegal with the appropriate level of expertise. We can provide expert advice on Inheritance Tax and assist to minimise any such liability with the application of appropriate allowances, exemptions and reliefs.
Our Probate/Estate Administration service includes but is not limited to:
· advice on the terms of the Will or Intestacy Rules;
· identification of executors/personal representatives;
· advice on Inheritance Tax including available allowances, exemptions & reliefs;
· applying for the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, where necessary;
· collecting in assets;
· paying any liabilities;
· paying legacies;
· advice and preparation of Deed of Variation, where one is required;
· preparation of Estate Accounts; and
· distribution of the estate.
Our probate matters are charged on an hourly rate basis as detailed above. Our charges will also contain an element based on the value of the estate. This is because the value is a reflection of the importance of the matter and consequently the responsibility on the firm. Therefore, we also charge 1% of the gross value of the estate (excluding any residence at which the deceased resided where the rate will be 0.5%). As such, the exact costs of probate matters are very much dependent on the independent circumstances of each case. Typically, we would estimate the administration of a straight-forward estate to take in the region of 10 – 15 hours work and the costs would therefore be in the region of £2,750.00 - £4,125.00 plus VAT exclusive of the value element charge (see above) and disbursements (see below).
As a guide only, we would consider the following circumstances to be a simple, straight-forward estate:
there is a valid Will;
there is no more than one property;
there are no more than 4 bank or building society accounts;
there are no other intangible assets;
there are between 1 and 5 beneficiaries;
there are no disputes between beneficiaries as to the division of assets;
there is no Inheritance Tax payable and a full IHT account is not required to be submitted to HMRC; and
there are no claims made against the estate.
Where an estate is more complex, the costs estimate is likely to increase. As a guide only, we would consider the following circumstances to increase the complexity of an estate:
there is no Will or a home-made Will;
administrators/beneficiaries need to be located;
there are numerous stocks/shares/investment policies;
there are foreign assets;
there are large numbers of beneficiaries;
there are lifetime gifts to declare;
there is an Inheritance Tax liability or a full (long-form) Inheritance Tax Return is required; or
a Deed of Variation is required.
Please be aware the above lists are not exhaustive. The costs for dealing with the sale of properties within the estate are not included and will be charged for separately.
We will be able to provide you with a more accurate costs estimate at the outset of the matter when we have taken your instructions and details of the estate.
In addition to our costs, there are disbursements which may also be payable. Disbursements are costs relating to your matter charged by third parties. The likely disbursements in a probate matter are as follows:
AML Identity Check;
Probate Application Fee - £300.00 (not subject to VAT) plus £1.50 (not subject to VAT) per office copy for estates with a value of over £5,000;
Bankruptcy Search Fees;
Statutory Notice to Creditors in the London Gazette – from approximately £100.00 (optional); and
Notice in Local Newspaper – approximately £80.00 - £100.00 (optional).
Our legal costs in probate matters are payable from the estate.
The length of time it will take to deal with an estate will vary and very much depends on the size and complexity of an estate as well as how quickly you can provide us with the necessary information and how long it takes to receive responses from companies such as banks, building societies, share registrars etc.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the timescales involved in probate matters with the Probate Registry experiencing significant delays as well as new processes with asset holders slowing matters down. In current circumstances, we would hope to be able to make an application for a Grant within 12 – 16 weeks of our instruction. Where a full Inheritance Tax Return is required, HMRC are currently taking 20 working days to process the required certificate. The Probate Registry are currently taking around 8 weeks to process applications. At present, the most straight-forward of estates are taking 6 – 12 months to administer.
We will endeavour to progress your matter as quickly as possible, but we are very much in the hands of third parties who are experiencing significant delays.
Where there is an estate property to sell, the time it takes to conclude administration depends on the length of time it takes to sell the property. Where possible, we will aim to prepare interim Estate Accounts and make interim distributions to beneficiaries when administration is on hold due to a property sale.
Lasting Powers of Attorney
We would normally expect our costs for assisting with the drafting and registration of one Lasting Power of Attorney to be in the region of £375.00 plus VAT. For clients instructing us to draft and register both types of Lasting Power of Attorney (Financial Decisions & Health and Care Decisions) we would expect our costs to be in the region of £575.00 plus VAT.
There are Office of the Public Guardian registration fees which are currently £82.00 per Lasting Power of Attorney. These are not included in the above costs estimates.
Court of Protection Matters
Court of Protection matters are charged on the hourly rate basis set out above. The costs involved in making a Deputyship application to the Court of Protection can range from £2,000.00 - £6,000.00 plus VAT. Disbursements include Court Fees and obtaining a mental capacity assessment form from the appropriate doctor.
A more detailed costs estimate will be provided to you once we have taken your full instructions at the outset of the matter.
Third Party Costs
Exc. VAT VAT Inc. VAT
Compliance Costs
ID Check (electronic or manual) per person
(Fee includes check and completion of risk assessment) £25.00 £5.00 £30.00
ID Check – Company. Per UK entity.
(Fee includes full domestic company search and risk assessment) £50.00 £10.00 £60.00
Bank Account Check £5.00 £1.00 £6.00
Lawyer Check & Entity Screen £15.00 £3.00 £18.00
Source of Funds Check £20.00 £4.00 £24.00
Lender Compliance Report (NAVRO/LC5) £15.00 £3.00 £18.00
Bank charges
CHAPS fee £40.00 £8.00 £48.00
BACS fee
(Applicable where amount being sent is over £1,000) £10.00 £2.00 £12.00
Conveyancing Disbursements
LMS fee £35.00 £7.00 £42.00
ULS fee £25.00 £5.00 £30.00
Lender Exchange NIL NIL NIL
Official Copy documents (per document): £7.00 NIL £7.00
Official Search £7.00 NIL £7.00
Index Map Search £8.00 NIL £8.00
Bankruptcy Search (per individual) £6.00 NIL £6.00
Company Wind-Up Search £30.00 £6.00 £36.00