Qualifications and Career History
• Moved as Partner to BWB in February 2004
• Partner at West End firm Reid Minty for 7 years
• Worked on qualifying at Clifford Chance for 14 years
• Trained as a solicitor in Bromley Kent
Experience
• Commercial property and finance
• Occupier work, lettings, disposals and acquisitions
• Property and finance aspects of business and M&A transactions including large public to private
• Insolvency aspects of property and general work for lenders, insolvency practitioners, companies, individuals and stakeholders
• Contamination and environmental property knowledge
• Expert in rights to light
• SOLT and VAT knowledge
Significant Transactions
• Acquisition on long geared lease for own occupation and subletting of part of trophy St James's Square building for international shipping line and subsequent buying in of freehold
• Acquisition and debt financing via Delaware LLC of Knightsbridge investment for US investor, then subsequent sale by disposal of shares in the LLC
• Site assemblies and development of greenfield and brownfield sites including under conditional contracts and options subject to planning and overage
• Russian PLC, US Insurance Company, US Private Equity firm, Russian Bank and French Media firm all taking premises in Mayfair/West End/City of London some for the first time
• Lease and pre-emption for Russian metals company of factory in the Midlands including dealing with contaminated land issues
• Acting for large Union exclusively in acquisitions, disposals, rationalising its portfolio and related issues
• Reorganising a City building for a number of related charities in order to create valuable property interests for each of them and related Charities Act issues
• Administration and disposal of several West End restaurant businesses and dealing with the Landlords [including the Crown] owed substantial arrears
• Subletting in difficult markets of surplus space and procuring consents from reluctant landlords
• Jermyn Street, Sloane Square and Outlets Centre shops for well known Italian menswear retailer as first forays into the UK
• Acting for national employers association on amalgamation of nine regional organisations including rationalising their varied portfolio and stamp duty land tax mitigation and subsequent trophy building acquisition
• Assisting manufacturing company deal with difficulties it had with regional development body over its land and then several years later advising on a pre-pack administrative receivership to save the business
• Advising lenders and grant givers on their policies and how best to structure security over projects whilst streamlining their procedures
• Formal and informal insolvency advice for lenders, grant givers and borrowers alike including acting for lenders taking over bad loans
• Property tax related work especially - Stamp Duty Land Tax and VAT including securing confirmation of SDLT exemption for CASC incorporation and lease renegotiations
Lectures/Publications
• Contributor to legal and property press – Estates Gazette and Property Week
• Client lectures and seminars