Search Acumen [1] has extended the capability of its Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) submissions solution, creating a dedicated commercial real estate offering, with direct submissions to HMRC for greater efficiency. As an industry first, this strengthens the firm’s offering as an end-to-end digital solution for all types of property transactions. The platform’s post completion solution has already processed in an excess of 2 million AP1 submissions and is currently submitting 35,000 SDLT applications every month.
Search Acumen’s platform connects directly to HMRC to allow SDLT submissions to be completed entirely online. Its technology can also use information submitted elsewhere across the Search Acumen platform to pre-populate up to 70% of the SDLT form, substantially reducing the amount of data submitted manually and so reducing the risk of human error to offer significant time savings. The platform will also automatically attach the returned SDLT to AP1 forms, further simplifying the post-completion process and saving valuable time.
For multiple properties, the built-in SDLT capability provides the option of using a single form to eliminate the time-consuming need to handle each form separately. The platform can also create master templates that can be cloned to create multiple SDLT submissions at a stroke, with the SDLT dashboard designed to manage and monitor high volumes at once.
The launch of a commercially focused SDLT solution continues Search Acumen’s development of a full end-to-end digital support service for commercial property transactions from pre-site investigations and searches to state-of-the-art visualisation tools and post-completion processes.
In 2024, Search Acumen launched Real Estate Intelligence (REI), the UK’s first – and currently only – AI-powered solution capable of extracting, categorising and standardising data from local authority searches. The business has a proven track record of innovation, from serving as the sole property data provider in the UK’s first blockchain property trial in 2019 to becoming the first in its sector to integrate OpenAI technology for customers.
Its latest advancement represents a significant step forward in supporting property lawyers, helping to streamline commercial transactions by saving time and reducing errors, both incredibly significant at a time for the economy where every deal counts, says Andrew Lloyd, Managing Director at Search Acumen. Commenting on the extended capability of the SDLT solution, he continues:
“This is now the simplest and most efficient post-completion tool on the market for lawyers today. It means Search Acumen offers commercial real estate lawyers a true full-service digital solution that supports data accuracy and efficiency, thereby significantly reducing risk exposure.
“I am of the firm view that the UK’s property market has the potential to contribute significantly to the growth of the economy, but only if we take a forward-looking approach and make use of the advances in technology to allow us to streamline previously hidebound processes. We are continually developing tools to ease friction points in a property transaction, enabling all parties to work with more data points and greater clarity that underscore deal confidence.
“Tens of thousands of SDLT forms are submitted to HMRC every year and so we are very proud to be able to offer a digital solution for commercial property professionals that promises to save them huge amounts of time – time they can use to focus on what they do best and deliver for clients.”