Ian Brunt, family partner at the law firm with offices in Blackburn, Accrington and Great Harwood, reports that inquiries into prenuptials have increased over the last 12 months.

For example, clients with significant funds that they want to retain should they divorce, and couples with more modest funds, who are entering into marriage very much with their eyes open.

High profile divorces in the media, such as Mills-McCartney and Andre-Price divorces, have raised the importance of prenuptials as a safety net for an individual’s wealth.

Currently the agreements are not legally enforceable in England and Wales; however the Law Commission has reported it will consult on their use this year.

Ian Brunt said: “The couples I am seeing are much more aware of the legal and financial implications of marriage.

“There has been a definite increase in inquiries, and I would say this is thanks in part to a number of recent high profile break-ups and also the now often reported statistic that one in four weddings end in divorce.”

The land, known as the Blue Zone, was part of Macclesfield General Hospital, and will be transformed into a mixed use commercial, residential, retail and leisure development. East Lancashire law firm, Haworth & Nuttall advised on the deal.

Keyworker will sell and lease part of the development. The listed building, known as the Clock Tower, has been sold to Dane Housing for a 36-property affordable housing scheme. Keyworker will construct and lease offices to East Cheshire NHS Trust and to the Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT.

Part of the site has also been sold to Cannon Capital Partnership for the construction of a care home. Kids Allowed will also lease a nursery built by Keyworker.

Planning for all aspects of the development has been given the green light and demolition is now under way with the crèche, apartments and commercial units expected to be completed by mid 2011. The further development of retail, open-market housing, coffee shop and gymnasium is expected to be ready by Autumn 2012.

East Lancashire law firm, Haworth & Nuttall, facilitated the complex transaction. Led by partner and head of commercial property, Nicola Phelps, supported throughout by John Riley and Penny Andrews, Haworth & Nuttall advised on the land acquisition, subsequent sales and leases, with corporate partner Roger Bury advising on the finance and security issues.

Eian Bailey, managing director of Keyworker Homes, said: “I am very proud of my company, my team and all our consultants for delivering a flag ship scheme not only for ourselves but also for the residents of Macclesfield, especially during one of the worst financial climates in recent memory.

“At no time has design been compromised due to financial constraints, the listed and historic buildings on site are to be given long lasting and sustainable futures restored to their former glory.

“The people of Macclesfield will particularly benefit from having more affordable housing as well as child and elderly care.

“The contractual mechanics of the site purchase and subsequent transactions were very complex and Haworth & Nuttall did a superb job to ensure all these transactions completed at the same time.”

Nicola Phelps of Haworth & Nuttall, said: “It’s great to see Keyworker Homes committing to such a large and complex project in what are challenging times. The community of Macclesfield will benefit enormously from the scheme.

“The company is a very well run operation and this project will create over 200 jobs. We are seeing signs of a slight recovery in the property market but there is a long way to go.”

Penny joins the firm from Halliwells, Manchester, where she spent three years as an associate in the development team. Prior to Halliwells, she worked in-house at brownfield developers, Woodford Group, where she was head of legal.

In her new role, Penny will assist Nicola Phelps and John Riley in the commercial property team on a range of matters including land acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant issues and property disputes.

With more than a decade of experience, she said: “I am delighted to join the commercial property team in what is a busy period for the firm. The property sector is showing signs of improvement and opportunities for developers.”

With eight partners and 30 staff, Haworth & Nuttall provides a range of legal services to businesses and individuals across Lancashire. It has offices in Blackburn, Accrington and Great Harwood and is one of the region’s oldest law firms, established in 1877.

Nicola Phelps of Haworth & Nuttall, said: “The economic situation is presenting many opportunities for our clients and we are therefore delighted to welcome Penny who will strengthen the level of advice on offer to our clients.”

The corporate lawyer who specialises in advising businesses on sales and acquisitions aimed to raise £150 for Cancer Research UK, but beat her fundraising target with a grand total of £348.

Shahin said: “Completing a run like this was a real challenge for me. Events like Race for Life are vital in funding Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work preventing, diagnosing and treating cancer. I am delighted to have raised money for such a worthwhile cause.”

Each Race for Life event covers a distance of 5k or 10k and Cancer Research UK is encouraging women of all ages and levels of fitness to participate. To sign up for a Race for Life event and for more information go to www.raceforlife.org

David joins the firm from Lloyds TSB, where he spent 35 years in a variety of roles, most recently as relationship director, advising owner managed business across Lancashire. 

His role will cover finance, strategic development, personnel and marketing across Haworth & Nuttall’s three offices in Blackburn, Accrington and Great Harwood. 

The 53-year-old, who lives in Preston, said: “I have enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Haworth & Nuttall in the past and I am delighted to be on board. The attraction for me was to work with people who had goals and aspirations in what is a demanding and changing sector. It’s an exciting period for the firm.” 

David McCraith, managing partner of Haworth & Nuttall, said: “Having someone of David’s calibre on board will be a huge boost for the firm. The legal profession has changed enormously and employing someone to focus solely on the business highlights our commitment to develop Haworth & Nuttall.”

New figures from Nationwide Building Society show that there was a 1 per cent drop in prices during February, for the first time in 10 months. 

This drop has been put down to a slowing of activity in the market, as the Government’s stamp duty ‘holiday’ ended in the New Year. 

However, Graham Ireland, conveyancing partner at Haworth & Nuttall solicitors, points to figures which show that despite the monthly price fall, the annual rate of price growth still increased by almost 10 per cent. 

He said: “Looking at the month of February, figures do show a drop in prices which, I believe, can be explained by three factors – firstly, the snow and cold weather causing many people to put off going to look at properties to buy; secondly, the end of the stamp duty holiday meaning that buyers now have money to find which they may not have needed to do before the end of 2009; and thirdly, the time of the year because, traditionally, January and February are quieter times of the year. 

“If you look at the situation as a whole, the annual rate of price growth is still increasing so I am confident that this monthly drop is simply a stumble on the way to market recovery. 

“There are still plenty of signs of recovery in the form of more activity in the first time buyer market and more mortgage products being made available by lenders.”

Shahin Akhtar, who is based at our Strawberry Bank office, has been short-listed for Young Dealmaker of the Year at the 2010 Dealmaker Awards, run by the north west’s largest business magazine, Insider.

Shahin, who lives in Blackburn, will find our whether she is a winner on March 4 2010, where 200 accountants, bankers, financiers and lawyers from Lancashire’s business community gather at Ewood Park for the annual event. 

Roger Bury, a partner at Haworth & Nuttall, said: “Shahin is an experienced member of the commercial team and she would be a worthy winner of the award. We’re proud she has been recognised by such a well regarded magazine.” 

The Insider Lancashire Dealmakers Awards recognise those in the professional and financial services community in the Red Rose County that make business deals happen.

The statistic from the Land Registry shows an increase of 0.9 per cent, bringing the cost of the average home in England to £161,554. 

Figures also show an increase in the number of sales, with a rise of almost 5,000 transactions in June to September 2009 when compared to the same period in 2008. 

Graham Ireland, conveyancing partner at Haworth & Nuttall, a law firm with offices across East Lancashire, said: “This increase of just under 1 per cent brings prices to just 0.3 per cent below those of a year ago. 

“This is a good sign for the housing market and could pave the way to increased optimism by buyers. 

“Mortgage lenders have also been introducing new products to the market, and seem to be more willing to lend money, something which can only be welcomed. 

“An even more welcome move on the part of lenders would be if they would even further relax their current lending criteria for first time buyers. Once first time buyers return to the market, things should improve dramatically. 

“While 2010 is unlikely to break any records, I am confident that we will see signs of improvement.”

The Bank of England has announced that approvals for home loans totalled 47,584 – up from 44,169 in May, and the highest level for more than a year.

However, mortgage lending itself was lower than expected.

Graham Ireland, conveyancing partner at Haworth & Nuttall Solicitors, a law firm with offices in Blackburn, Accrington and Great Harwood, gave the news a cautious welcome.

He said: “The property sector has been waiting for mortgage lenders to increase the amounts available to borrowers for some time. One of the key reasons the market has not improved quicker and seems to have stalled is because of the lack of mortgage lending available to first time buyers.

“Market activity is still low; there are not as many house sales being completed as we would like to see.

“The economy still has a long way to go for a full recovery, but this is, hopefully, a step in the right direction.”

Gazumping occurs when the sale has been provisionally agreed, but contracts have not been exchanged (and therefore a legal commitment in place), and the buyer is out–bid by another buyer making a higher offer.

Gazumping has been common in the past but is usually associated with there being more prospective buyers than there are properties for sale. It is unusual in a slow market.

Now Graham Ireland, conveyancing partner with Haworth & Nuttall Solicitors, a law firm with offices in Blackburn, Accrington and Great Harwood, reports that he has had a number of recent instances where buyers have been gazumped.

He said: “Gazumping usually only rears its head in a sellers’ market, when prices are buoyant and there is stiff competition for properties.

“However, there seem to be a significant number of re–possessed properties for sale at the moment where buyers who believe they have made a successful final offer to buy a property find that they have been gazumped.

“As property prices begin to increase – Nationwide figures showed a 1.2 per cent rise in May – one of the downsides will be that gazumping will become more commonplace as buyers bid against each other for properties which are perceived as being low priced.”

However, Graham added: “It is too early to say that the market is significantly improving. The first time buyer market is still struggling.

“Many lenders have recently increased their administration charges for dealing with mortgage applications and, quite frankly, first time buyers, on the whole, are not in a position to raise the amount of deposit they would need to put towards a purchase. This is entirely down to lenders current requirements.”