
[His] understanding of the charity sector makes transactions run smoothly
Stand out individual
I’m a solicitor in the Real Estate team and I specialise in commercial real estate matters.
I have experience of working both in private practice and in-house, and at Bates Wells I work with a broad range of clients including commercial organisations, charities, social enterprises and public bodies.
Although I advise clients on all commercial real estate matters, including landlord and tenant issues, disposals and purchases and mergers and acquisitions, I regularly advise on the real estate aspects of transactions in the education, energy and renewables, telecommunications and banking sectors.
I helped a multi-academy trust with the conversion of a previously maintained London school into an academy. The school was subject to a private finance initiative agreement so the matter involved a number of parties and legal agreements and the conversion was further complicated by the fact that the title to the school was made up of fifty different registered titles as well as parcels of unregistered land in relation to which the title deeds were lost.
I advised a national charity on the disposal of one of its properties to a developer, where I negotiated favourable overage terms for the client so that the charity will benefit from agreed additional payments linked to the number of residential flats developed at the property. The property was also listed as an asset of community value under the Localism Act 2011 so I guided the client through that legislation and its application to the disposal.
Working within a large project group within the Real Estate team I assisted a national charity with the transfer of a portfolio of its properties as part of a reorganisation. This involved advising on title due diligence and advising on and dealing with matters such as title defects, Charities Act compliance and tenants' rights of first refusal under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987.