Commercial property

Damien Cann

Damien is a partner in the Real Estate team and is involved in both equity and debt-funded property development schemes. An established adviser on the acquisition, disposal, letting and funding of commercial properties, Damien has a long track record of advising clients in the healthcare sector, including Achieve Together, CHOICE, LifeCare and Portman Healthcare Limited. Damien acted for Rightacres Property Co Limited, an innovative commercial property developer specialising in occupier-led property solutions for business, in connection with the former Brain’s Brewery site in Cardiff known as Central Quay. This included a transaction for the waterfront residential scheme comprising the development of Plots 1 and 2 Central Quay to create approximately 700 new residential units, from studios to three-bedroom penthouse apartments, which has now been completed by long leasehold disposal to L&G. Damien has acted for Rightacres for several years in relation to its funding agreements, culminating in several hundred million pounds' worth of investment into the Central Square project in Cardiff. Damien has also led on several exciting new restaurant opportunities for the Pasture restaurant group, and retail boutiques in prime central London locations for New York-headquartered beauty and cosmetic company Malin + Goetz. With particularly strong technical legal skills, Damien brings a wealth of commercial experience and is known for his expertise in innovative funding options. Damien has a specialism in marina and waterfront developments for clients including Associated British Ports and Boatfolk Marinas. Damien has many years of experience in acting on social housing acquisition and development in England and Wales including pension-funded investment structures and bond issues. Expertise: Annuity-funded structures in property development Acquisition and development of commercial property Property-secured finance Commercial projects and contracts, including long-term contracts between the private and public sectors All aspects of leasehold property management

Louise Howells

Louise is an experienced commercial property lawyer based in our Cardiff office acting for many of the firm’s commercial clients. Louise’s work includes acting for Housing Associations in the acquisition, disposal and refinancing of properties where she has evolved a strong reputation as a trusted advisor. Louise has developed an expertise in acting for tenants in the management of a portfolio of retail properties as well as in dealings with public houses. She acts regularly for an acquisitive PLC in the purchase of companies with key property components and represents companies in the health care sector involved in the acquisition and development of portfolios of new medical centres for GP’s. Louise has provided advice and assistance to developers bringing forward large sites for development and is expert in the many dimensions of commercial property transactions and land based legal issues.

Adam Thomas

Adam is a property lawyer experienced in all aspects of real estate work, including landlord and tenant, development, acquisitions and disposal, secured lending and property finance. He has significant experience acting for a range of property investors, financial institutions and end-users across the public and private sectors, including retail, investment, manufacturing and healthcare. Adam works with clients to understand their transactional and wider business objectives and by focussing on what is important to the client, helps them to achieve their strategic goals. Adam has a broad range of property experience from straightforward commercial leases, to complex multi-party forward-funded developments.

Gareth Baker

Gareth is a Partner in our Real Estate Team. Gareth co-leads Acuity’s award-winning Cardiff Real Estate team alongside Steve Morris. He has significant experience in leading high-profile real estate development projects, and specialises in the acquisition, disposal, letting and funding of real estate, including retail, industrial and office properties. Gareth is an expert in strategic land acquisition and disposal, particularly acting for landowners and developers in joint venture and collaboration agreements across England and Wales. Gareth has been the lead lawyer on Cardiff’s Central Square regeneration scheme since 2014. He initially assembled the entire site for client Rightacres, an innovative commercial property developer specialising in occupier-led property solutions for business, which recently won an award for its “Outstanding Contribution to Cardiff”. Gareth is the key partner responsible for the development and disposal of Central Quay over the next five years and is the key partner contact for several major clients including Rightacres, PMG Group, Jones Bros, ABP, Wild Water Group and South Wales Land Developments Limited. Expertise: Real estate deals and transactions – acquisitions, disposals and lettings in particular inner-city redevelopment and regeneration Complex forward funding deals with institutional pension funds and other real estate finance structures Joint venture and land assembly transactions involving numerous multiparty agreements BTR

Susanne Bradley

Susanne is a senior property Partner with over 30 years’ experience in delivering real estate and development advice. She is head of the property department in Cardiff and her work covers a variety of property transactions in both private and public sectors; including buying and selling individual properties and investment portfolios, granting and taking commercial leases, estate management, providing strategic advice, leisure, retail, office and mixed use development and major public regeneration schemes. Susanne’s varied caseload ranges from a private two-plot luxury housing development, to major town centre regeneration schemes, from the sale of a motorway service station to the purchase of an industrial warehouse for conversion to a ballet studio and from a small anaerobic power generation plant in rural Wales to a city-centre shelter for the homeless. She deals with public and private sector projects in equal measure and her insight into the driving factors for each sector aids her in assisting the parties to reach agreement on a project where both sectors are involved.

James Egan

James is a real estate partner with experience of large-scale development work, joint ventures, and general property transactions in the private, public and third sectors.James handles many of the firm’s high value, high profile real estate transactions leading multi-disciplinary teams of solicitors. He has significant expertise in the development of office blocks, health campuses and primary care resource centres and currently acts for developers, tenants and purchasers in the procurement, acquisition, funding, development and subsequent lease arrangements and sales of such developments. He also leads teams advising large clients such as the Welsh Government, NHS Wales, charities and social landlords on portfolio management.

Nigel Griffiths

Nigel is an experienced real estate partner, covering the full range of commercial property work, and having handled the Canary Wharf retail portfolio for the last 25 years has gained a particular specialism and interest in retail leasing and development work.

Steve Morris

Steve co-leads Acuity’s award-winning Real Estate team alongside Gareth Baker. Steve enjoys an impressive reputation for advising on high-value property-backed financings and was named as one of the most influential people in property and construction in the Wales Insider Media Property Power List 2022. He is ranked by both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Working with a portfolio of both developers and lenders, Steve is well-known for his strong technical skills and extensive market knowledge. He has a specialism in large-scale real estate projects encompassing elements of structuring, finance, planning and procurement. A well-established general development lawyer for both commercial and residential schemes, his clients include major local and national developers, investors with portfolio management needs, technology giants, financiers, public and third sector organisations. He acts for such names as Sony, Lloyds Banking Group, Principality Building Society, Hodge Bank and West Sussex and Wolverhampton County Councils. In recent years, Steve has led teams on some of the largest, highest profile property deals in London and South Wales, including acting for a major Cardiff developer in the development, construction and letting to the BBC and HMRC of their new Welsh HQs, and the new Welsh Valleys HQ of the Department of Work and Pensions. He continues to act on some of the largest deals in Wales and around the UK. Steve has played a key part in the growth of the Acuity Law Real Estate team. He is noted for his client-centric approach, and his ability to analyse a multitude of complex interlocking issues across a wide range of disciplines are often key reasons why clients instruct him. Steve regularly hosts seminars and workshops in England and Wales on planning matters and delivers lectures for RICS Wales and the Brownfield Land Wales conference. Expertise: Commercial property deals and transactions – acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold land, landlord and tenant, placing of security, securitisation of assets Real estate development projects – from site assembly to land acquisition, site due diligence, procurement, finance and advice on planning applications and appeals. Experience in complex land assembly and split financing projects Property finance – negotiation of forward funding and property development finance agreements, drafting of security agreements, collateral guarantees, and complex facility arrangements Planning – from assessment of the site and application process through to negotiation and drafting of detailed planning agreements (including viability and affordable housing delivery) with advice on divergences between England and Wales in statute and policy Insolvency and effect on ownership of property – protecting tenanted properties

Ioan Owen

Ioan is a senior property Partner in the Cardiff office. He advises a wide range of private, public and third sector clients including office owners and occupiers, national retailers and investors. Ioan works primarily in the landlord and tenant sphere of property, acting for landlords, tenants or investors. He acts for a number of investor landlords and office occupiers on acquisitions disposals renewals and estate management issues. Ioan has extensive experience advising national retailers on their retail leases across England and Wales and also acts for a number of companies on their office portfolio requirements including lease renewals termination and dilapidation issues. His experience includes advising a FTSE 100 company on a £60m new headquarters development, comprising a purpose-built 12 storey 220,000 sq. ft building. Ioan advised on all pre-letting requirements, approval of funding, construction and overage requirements. Ioan also advised on a £20m 80,000 sq. ft development which included dealing with all pre-letting requirements approval of funding and associated issues

Geoff Reed

Geoff leads the Real Estate team based in Wales. He has extensive experience in all aspects of property work for both the public and private sectors and has acted on a number of major property transactions in recent years. He has particular expertise in the procurement, acquisition, funding, letting and disposal of commercial industrial and residential property. Geoff is highly regarded by clients and colleagues for his commerciality and technical expertise.