Wake Smith chairman Neil Salter has been shortlisted as Property Personality of the Year in the South Yorkshire Property Awards 2025.
Highly-regarded lawyer Neil has spent 30 years in South Yorkshire’s commercial property sector gathering an unrivalled understanding of the city and the region, positioning himself as a friendly, expert voice on the sector, investment, development and regeneration.
He is shortlisted for the Property Personality of the Year award which recognises an individual who has had the biggest personal impact on the property sector in South Yorkshire last year, but considers their achievements throughout their career.
Voting is currently available via Insider’s website with the winner announced on July 9 at the Crowne Plaza in Sheffield along with various other awards.
Neil Salter joined Wake Smith in 1995 and has been head of commercial property since 1996, leading the biggest and busiest department at Wake Smith.
A strong pipeline of work, established relationships and expert knowledge has meant his completed property deals over the last two years have totalled approximately £30m, delivering a positive impact on the region’s sector as all transactions were within the city.
Neil played a role in setting up The Sheffield Property Association (S-PA) in 2017 as one of the initial board members, becoming a director on incorporation in 2019 and stepping down as director in 2023, but remains a big supporter.
With a specialism in retail investment, Neil has also acted for national, regional and local client in manufacturing, healthcare property development and regeneration through a long term, established local and national client base, including private investors in London with national portfolios.
He advises clients on a range of complex, high value and sometimes novel commercial property transactions including acquisitions of commercial and residential investment property; residential development and sales; retail and out-of-town property development; asset management for property owning companies and landlord and tenant work, also offering niche sector work.
Neil also sits on the firm’s banking and finance team, one of the largest in Sheffield and South Yorkshire, handling related finance and funding matters.
His work has been praised in the industry standard Legal 500 guide over many years having delivered up to speed knowledge of market trends for informed advice, structuring and handling transactions, all within required timescales for the life cycles of businesses on all their commercial property matters.
Find out more about Wake Smith’s commercial property services here