Stuart Bell

Stuart Bell is a director and lawyer with extensive experience in property development and commercial transactions. Over his career spanning more than 20 years, Stuart has built a strong track record advising on a diverse range of complex property projects and business dealings across Queensland. Stuart has acted on the development and sale of unique sub-leasehold land and built form developments on Hamilton Island. He has represented unlisted public company developers in acquiring major shopping centres and development sites throughout the State, providing ongoing advice on development rollouts and re-tenanting strategies. His experience also includes handling the sale of major multi-jurisdictional fishing licences and related equipment. In addition, Stuart has advised on transactions involving complex hybrid common ownership structures, including a regional tourist destination with marina development. He has provided guidance on drafting alternative agreements to resolve deadlocks affecting multiple stakeholders such as landowners, liquidators, creditors, and government authorities. Stuart regularly drafts and negotiates complex marina sub-leases over state leasehold land and leases of submerged freehold land. He has acted on numerous regional hotel and freehold transactions involving sophisticated options and financial arrangements, as well as business franchise acquisitions and sales. His property development work extends to a broad range of projects in the Whitsunday region, from straightforward land developments to large-scale, staged mixed-use developments. Stuart also advises on intricate cross-hiring aviation agreements and represents commercial property developers in statutory land acquisition negotiations. Beyond his legal practice, Stuart serves as a director of a civil electrical infrastructure company that supports developers of subdivisions throughout regional Queensland. He is active in the community as a member of the Airlie Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Urban Development Institute of Australia (Queensland). Stuart also played a significant role in establishing the region’s first disability accommodation facility, now operated by the Endeavour Foundation. Stuart’s practice areas include property development, business mergers, acquisitions, sales and restructuring, as well as personal succession planning. His clients benefit from his practical industry knowledge and hands-on approach, grounded in his long-standing commitment to property development and commercial law.