Tom Allen

[His] understanding of the charity sector makes transactions run smoothly

Legal 500 2020
Stand out individual

Legal 500 2020

Experience

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’ve advised a multi-academy trust on a complex academy conversion

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 have helped a charity obtain best value on a disposal

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.
I advised a charity on its reorganisation

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.

I advised a think tank in relation to the sale of one of its properties in east London for £2.5m.
I advised a regulatory authority on the surrender of a long lease and a new sub-underlease of office premises in the City at an annual rent of over £500,000.
I helped The Fitzrovia Chapel Foundation in relation to its long lease of the Grade II* listed Fitzrovia Chapel which underwent a £2m refurbishment as part of the Fitzroy development in Fitzrovia, which was created out of the former Middlesex Hospital site.
I assisted a social policy think tank take an assignment of a lease of office premises in central London.
I advised a national charity in respect of the sale of one of its properties, including negotiating overage terms for the client.
I advised an international company in relation to the surrender of its existing lease and the grant of its new lease of office premises in central London.
I assisted Element Materials Technology Holding UK with the real estate due diligence in respect of the £44.5 million acquisition of TRaC Global Limited, a specialist testing business.
I assisted Schleuniger Holding AG with the real estate aspects of its acquisition of a 20 per cent stake in LW Solutions Ltd, a manufacturer of laser wire stripping machines for the stripping of insulation from high-tech cables and wires.
I advised Blenheim Natural Resources Plc in relation to the real estate aspects of its acquisition of a 27.17 per cent investment stake in IGS (International Geoscience Services) Limited.
I assisted with the property aspects of the creation of several different multi-academy trusts, including dealing with the land transfers on the conversion of community schools and PRUs.
I advised two separate multi-academy trusts with the transfer of a number of academies to other multi-academy trusts (being some of the first transfers of their kind).
I advised a further education provider in respect of a new telecoms lease at one of its sites.
I assisted an academy trust with the grant of an underlease of part of its school site to another education provider.
I assisted a bank with property due diligence in relation to the security being taken over a number of properties in respect of a £5.3m facility.
I advised a private bank in relation to taking security over a residential property in respect of a £7.65m facility.
I advised a community group in relation to a hydro scheme in Wales.
I assisted a social enterprise with a number of air space solar panel leases across a number of maintained schools in Oxfordshire.