What can I do for you?
I am an associate in our real estate team. The bulk of my work involves helping with the real estate needs of a range of education clients from the following sectors: higher, further, academies, studio schools and university technical colleges (UTCs). I am also involved in advising several corporate occupier and commercial property investment clients such as GE Real Estate, Converteam and Elster Group GmbH on a range of landlord and tenant matters including acquisitions and disposals.
I’m a specialist in the education sector. My work includes advising the universities of Aston, Leicester, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton and University College Birmingham as well as Kaplan UK and The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education on general portfolio management, student accommodation projects (including the largest student residences scheme in the UK to-date), acquiring sites for investment and development as well as selling surplus land.
I also have similar experience assisting several further education colleges in London and the Midlands, not only with their sites/campuses but also on mergers, joint ventures and shared services. We were recently involved in giving advice on an exciting multimillion-pound merger of two further education colleges in London and on a ground-breaking joint venture between colleges in Oxford and the Thames Valley. I was the main real estate contact leading on the property due diligence being carried out on the proposed merger partners and on the joint venture.
Our work with academies, studio schools and UTCs is also gathering momentum. I am the lead real estate lawyer helping on the formation and subsequent property management of academies in Cumbria, Essex, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Worcestershire, Norfolk, Doncaster, Cleveland, Plymouth, Birmingham, Suffolk, Solihull, Wednesbury, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Isle of Wight, Richmond and London.
We also provided real estate advice to one of the first three studio schools in the country and are currently working on various UTCs, including the ground-breaking UTC: the Aston University Engineering Academy in Birmingham.
Supporting my clients’ aims
A real highlight for me was the work we did on the creation of the innovative “all-through” 3-16 year old Appleton Academy in West Yorkshire. Given the need to achieve government funding, an accelerated timetable was set. We were required to have all necessary corporate, real estate and charity interests in place within six weeks of us being instructed as a prerequisite for drawdown of funding. Our cross-office team, with a co-ordinated and experienced approach, meant that we met this timetable.
What do others say?
My ability to meet an urgent timeframe is appreciated by my clients: “Thank you for a job well done – but more so, for your timely advice, thoroughness and total professionalism throughout”.
What else should you know?
I am on the editorial committee of Hot Property, which is the legal e-newsletter produced by our real estate group. If you would like to know more about this, please feel free to contact me or see the Publications and updates section of this site.
I also contribute to articles on free schools and academies in Leader and Independent Schools magazines as well as being published in University Business on how universities can use their estates to maximise funding opportunities.
I am also a member of the Court of Cardiff University. The court provides a formal route for raising issues and receiving information about the university. The main purpose is to receive reports from the Chair of the Council, the Treasurer and the Vice-Chancellor about the university's activities. This gives me an invaluable insight into the internal workings of a university and helps me to better understand my university clients' wider concerns and priorities.