Gowling WLG

Real Estate; Asset Management; Retail

Legal Director

Kay Desai helps clients to acquire, dispose and manage occupational real estate with a quick turnaround and minimal fuss.

Much of Kay's work is for retailers, assisting with often large-scale and fast-paced acquisitions and disposal programmes. Delivering to tight timescales is usually key to her client's business objectives, from achieving a generally greater high street presence to expanding in strategic locations. Kay's understanding of the commercial drivers behind any transaction means she can focus on getting the deal agreed while protecting her client's position.

Her extensive experience means she is well-placed to help streamline the acquisition and disposal process, helping clients develop efficient overall procedures to achieve their targets and, in the case of acquisitions, get up and trading as quickly as possible.

Kay has also advised a number of energy sector clients on strategic acquisitions, worked alongside our Corporate team to assist with the multi-faceted property issues arising from wider corporate transactions and acted for various landowners in complex conditional sales.

Clients

A number of name brands and retailers, leisure and other corporate occupiers, such as Young's Brewery, Fat Face, B&Q, Jaegar, Crew Clothing, Birdseye, Poundland, Dudley Building Society and the Midcounties Co-op.

Experience

Working with a UK Building Society on their relocation to new headquarters in order to accommodate company growth.

Helping a national pub chain with a number of multi-million pound acquisitions of new premises, including advising when they are acquiring new builds with continuing development obligations.

Acting for a large telecommunications retailer on not only a major project involving the acquisition of 118 shops in 12 months but also advising on the acquisition of a number of properties from a company in administration. The project was turned around on a very impressive timescale, allowing our client to achieve a greater high street presence.

Acting for a household name food brand in a refinancing of their factory sites in the UK, incorporating complex title reviews.

Assisting one of the UK's largest co-operatives with the acquisition of seven stores as going concerns worth £8.64 million and more recently in respect of a complex sale and leaseback.

Working with a number of retailers, including Fat Face, Jaeger, Crew Clothing and Poundland, on major store acquisitions, and disposals.

Leading the client relationship with companies like Jaeger and Young & Co's Brewery PLC.

English, Punjabi