Overview
I’m a Partner in Michelmores’ Transactional Real Estate Team and Head of the Real Estate Department. My work is primarily focussed on development, principally residential development but also mixed use and commercial development but I have extensive experience of all types of commercial property transactions including buying and selling land and acting for both landlord and tenants on leasehold arrangements.
I work with developers, promoters and landowners and advise on sale and purchase contracts conditional on planning, option agreements, promotion agreements in relation to both immediate land requirements and strategic land.
I have a particular interest in sustainability issues in development such as biodiversity net gain and nutrient neutrality.
I enjoy working with my clients on a long term basis, getting to know them and getting to understand their business and priorities. Through this I am able to give commercial and strategic advice and support my clients in finding solutions. My clients are based across the country but my focus is primarily within the South West region.
Over the years I have worked with a number of further and higher education institutions and I education and the development of others is a passion of mine. I was our training principal for many years with responsibility for trainee solicitors and I have an ongoing interest in training and supporting the next generation.
I have worked with Michelmores since 2000, joining the Firm after relocating from my home city, London, where I trained and then qualified with a large city firm. I love the collaborative and entrepreneurial culture of the Firm which continues to sit at the heart of all we do even though the firm has grown and evolved in so many ways.
I am listed as a Leading Partner for Commercial Property in the South West by the Legal 500, and I am also ranked in Band 2 for Real Estate by independent legal guide Chambers.
Recent experience
Acting for a regional developer on a series of strategic land options including working as an integral part of the client’s internal team to structure, shape and settle heads of terms before drafting and negotiating the documentation.
Supporting a national developer in relation to the conditional acquisition of a site. The acquisition was extremely complex, involved a number of different parties. The documentation needed careful co-ordination to deal with the various land interests and a large number of title issues were identified and a strategy for their resolution agreed and implemented.
Acting for a large private landowner in relation to a complex negotiation of variations to an existing option arrangement. Establishing a strategy and navigating a complex negotiation to achieve the disposal of the land on very favourable terms.
Acting for charity with significant landholdings in relation to the strategic disposal of land for residential development. This involved working very closely with the client and the wider professional team to engage with stakeholders and shape and deliver the client’s wider strategic objectives.
Supporting a trust in relation to a very significant promotion agreement involving over 500 acres. The matter involved very complex pricing mechanisms and required the close collaboration of the trustees and the wider professional team to finalise the complex negotiations.
