Chris Crystal

Chris Crystal is a partner in the real estate team, based at our Beverley office. 

Chris is a specialist commercial property and agricultural lawyer with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with large corporate entities, commercial landlords, property developers, farming businesses, education providers and charities. 

He deals with all aspects of commercial property including option agreements, acquisitions, disposals, refinancing and overage agreements, with specialisms in both the agriculture and education sectors. 

He works alongside partners Justin Graves and Katie Wright, along with other commercial property and agricultural property law colleagues, to grow and develop the firm’s real estate offering. 

His role is to work with clients to understand their perspectives and ensure their ultimate goals are met.

Key specialisms

Commercial property

Chris specialises in commercial property and has experience spanning across the whole spectrum of commercial property law, having handled high value and complex real estate projects in the Yorkshire area.

He has previously worked on high value option agreements in prime areas for phased residential developments, as well as supporting relocations which involved the disposal and acquisition of corporate offices.

He has also delivered refinancing work for a large portfolio of care homes, overage agreements for both landowners and developers, and complex lease agreements which were dependent on substantial works.

Sectors

Education

Chris has acted on behalf of schools and further education (FE) providers for many years. He has helped many educational institutions, mainly FE colleges and academy trusts, by advising on the property aspects of academy conversion.

He also deals with education real estate requirements including general estate advice, buying, selling and leasing properties, and joint ventures with other stakeholders. 

Agriculture

Chris has a wealth of knowledge of commercial property law in the agriculture sector. He advises farming businesses on property matters including buying, selling and leasing rural property and easement agreements with utilities.

Education

Chris completed both a law degree (LLB) at the University of Newcastle and a Legal Practice Course (LPC) at The College of Law in York, before qualifying in January 2003. 

Voluntary work and memberships

Chris is recognised as a Leading Individual in the Legal 500 - an independent legal guide ranking individuals and firms on feedback from clients and peers - for his real estate expertise in the Yorkshire region. 

He has also previously acted as a governor at East Riding College.