Alastair is a partner specialising in commercial IT and technology related matters and leads the firm’s Information Technology practice as well as its Fintech group. He has extensive experience in advising on large scale technology implementations, licensing, the use of cloud based solutions, outsourcing and development projects frequently in the financial services, insurance and telecoms sectors. Alastair also advises clients on data protection issues most commonly relating to the use and transfer of customer data (particularly in the context of the type of project referred to above) and has experience in the exploitation of intellectual property rights, particularly relating to software development, the use of open source software and websites. This also involves the support of corporate transactions in these areas, together with advising on linked transitional services arrangements. Alastair wrote and maintains the Thomson Reuters 'PLC' practice note on 'Outsourcing in the Insurance Sector' and publishes other similar work for Lexis PSL. He is also regularly involved in organising and speaking at Fintech related events in the UK and US.
Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP
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Lawyers
Alexander is a partner in Private Wealth Department advising wealthy individuals and their families across the UK and internationally, particularly in the delivery of commercial advice across multiple service areas. He is responsible for the development of the London office. Additional emphasis on capital taxation, heritage property, trusts, wills and probate. Alexander acts mainly for family offices and individuals with significant property interests (landed estates, commercial and residential portfolios) and entrepreneurs.
Alistair is a partner in the real estate team specialising in acting for large corporate occupiers and retailers. He leads the firm’s retail property team and has extensive experience of advising many national retailers on the management of their trading portfolios, acquisition programmes and disposal strategies across all locations from high street, shopping centre to out of town retail park destinations.
Andrew specialises in commercial property transactions, with particular emphasis on the investment, development and leisure sectors. He has wide ranging experience of funding developments, complex sale and purchase contracts conditional on planning, site assembly, re-financings, acquisitions, disposals and portfolio investment management. He also has expertise acting for occupational tenants on pre-lets, sales and leasebacks and portfolio management. His recent work includes: leading on the statutory transfer scheme to separate the legal property interests of Royal Mail and Post Office Limited across 150 properties; acting for an institutional pension fund on various investment asset purchases to a value of over £200m in the last three years, including leisure, industrial and retail property; acting for a national transport infrastructure company on redevelopment projects, including overage arrangements, for retail, leisure, office and residential purposes.
Andrew is a partner and Head of the data privacy and e-commerce team. He advises on all aspects of data protection, privacy and freedom of information work including client audits, complex outsourcing, international data transfer arrangements and data licensing projects. Clients include major retailers, hospitality and leisure sector organisations and public sector bodies. He also specialises in information technology including IT procurement and e-commerce. He advises the Interactive Media in Retail Group (the industry body for the online retail industry) on data protection and ecommerce matters.
Andrew is a partner in the agriculture, farms and estates team and advises clients in relation to all aspects of rural property. He routinely acts in the sale and purchase of farms and estates, sporting estates and agricultural and rural residential property portfolios. His particular area of expertise lies in acting for landowners in relation to renewable energy projects, and on residential and commercial developments. Andrew also represents several substantial estates and landowning clients in relation to the management of their mineral interests. He has significant specialist expertise in advising mineral owners in the commercial exploitation of their mineral interests and regularly advises on issues relating to reinstatement of quarry sites.
Andrew is a partner who specialises in commercial disputes. He has expertise in managing disputes through a variety of forums including litigation, arbitration, expert determination and mediation. Andrew has an established practice in technology and data protection disputes. This includes advising on software licences, IT procurement disputes, data transfer/processing agreements, enforcement action by the ICO and managing security breaches.
Andrij is a partner and head of the UK Competition Team. As well as obtaining merger clearances, defending clients under investigation for alleged competition law breaches and counselling clients on a wide variety of competition law issues, he deals with competition damages claims, competition disqualification orders, consumer protection enforcement cases, NSIA filings, state aid/subsidy control, procurement challenges and commercial litigation which involves competition defences or heads of claim. Cases include Firstgroup/ScotRail Phase II merger clearance, Toys and Games price fixing investigation, Servier – Perindopril pay for delay investigation, Argos & Ors v Samsung Electronics (UK) Limited & Ors competition damages claim, Eurotunnel v Secretary of State for Transport procurement claim, Tempus Energy & Ors v Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy State Aid JR, Rest & Play Footwear Ltd v George Rye & Sons Ltd standalone damages claim.
Andy is a partner in the restructuring and insolvency team in Leeds. Before joining the firm he worked at DLA Piper in Leeds for over 11 years. Andy specialises in advising banks, other financial institutions and companies on restructuring and turnaround of businesses and property investments. He has spent 9 months on secondment at one of the main UK banks working closely with the business support and distressed property teams. He regularly advises insolvency practitioners and other specialists in restructuring and insolvency related assignments. Andy has advised on various sectors including healthcare, hotels, leisure, retail, real estate, charities, education and football clubs.
Anthony is a partner specialising in commercial real estate, focussing on projects and transactions in the energy, marine, industrial and infrastructure sectors. His clients include Babcock International Group, The Crown Estate and E.ON.
Ben is a partner in the Corporate Team and since joining in 2001 has undertaken a diverse range of corporate based transactions in a range of sectors. He has particular expertise in public company work, private company merger and acquisitions, asset finance, joint venturing (both in the private and public sectors), group reorganisations and governance. His work in a broad range of sectors, including the transport, health, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and property investment and development sectors, has enabled him to develop an excellent understanding of a range of commercial practices.
Caroline is a partner in the commercial team specialising in non-contentious commercial, technology and data protection work. Her practice involves advising on a wide variety of commercial contracts including distribution, agency and franchising arrangements, contractual joint ventures, terms and conditions of supply, licensing and manufacturing arrangements, outsourcing agreements (IT and BPO), cloud computing, systems integration, general IP, e-commerce, data protection and privacy law matters. Extensive data protection and privacy law advice to organisations operating in marketing, data analysis, pharmaceutical, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, transport, technology and financial services sectors.
Charles is a partner specialising in infrastructure and project finance. He advises project sponsors, lenders and public sector authorities on project structuring, risk allocation and bankability aspects of projects across a broad range of sectors, including energy and defence. In addition to primary market work, Charles also advises on the acquisition and disposal of interests in project assets and on refinancings.
Charlie is a finance lawyer based in London. He has extensive experience advising lenders (banks, development finance institutions, funds and other alternative lenders) and borrowers in developed and emerging markets (including within Africa). He has advised across multiple sectors (including infrastructure, real estate, transport, energy, technology, pharmaceuticals, mining, commodities, retail and entertainment) on a broad range of finance transactions including corporate lending, real estate finance, acquisition finance, infrastructure and other project finance, private equity and funds finance, asset-based lending, trade finance, private placements and restructurings.
Chris is Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP's expert on matters of leasehold reform and enfranchisement together with transactions where the provisions of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 and the potential pre-emption rights of tenants need to be taken into account. He was member of the Law Commissions legal advisory group on residential enfranchisement and lease extension reform and provides high-level advice to clients arising out of these highly technical areas of practice. Chris acts for a number residential investment clients including Grainger and Walworth Investment Properties Limited as well as registered providers such as Places for People. In addition, Chris advises on all other residential investment work including sales and acquisitions both of individual units and of portfolios. With over 20 years’ experience of the residential sector, Chris is able to provide considerable insight to his clients given his wide knowledge of the field.
Christina is head of retail employment and specialises in employment law, both contentious and non-contentious, including employment tribunal advocacy. She advises on restructuring and managing change, discrimination issues, dismissals, executive terminations, contracts of employment and employment policies and employment aspects of business transfers. She is also an experienced employment law trainer. She has particular experience of the retail and education sectors. She is also a qualified Finnish lawyer and an Honorary Consul of Finland.
Chris specialises in commercial projects work with particular expertise in the energy sector. Chris spent six years in the energy and projects team at Herbert Smith, advising a range of companies, merchant banks and public sector clients in relation to a wide range of issues connected with the UK electricity and gas markets. The matters he has advised on range from large cross-border mergers and acquisitions to day-to-day advice on the terms of contracts with customers and suppliers. Chris has also spent six months on secondment to Eastern Natural Gas and Calor Gas.
Claire is a partner in the developers and investors team and Head of Retail. She has over 17 years' experience in all aspects of real estate transactions advising investors, occupiers, and developers from site assembly through to letting and on-going asset management. Claire heads up our full service UK hospitality practice advising all types of businesses on all aspects of their requirements touching hospitality and real estate. Claire routinely leads multi-disciplinary and multi-locational teams advising on portfolio acquisitions/disposals, financing and development. She has particular expertise in retail, transport and logistics, and the hotel and leisure sectors. Claire has completed account management training designed by the Cranfield School of Management and for many years has acted as client relationship partner helping some of the country's largest companies achieve their ambitious plans for growth.
Claire is a partner and national head of the real estate group at Womble Bond Dickinson. She specialises in planning and environmental law, with an MA in environmental law. She has particular expertise in the energy, waste and chemical sectors. Experience includes advising on several nationally significant infrastructure projects (NSIPs) on hazardous waste, energy from waste and CCGT developments. Claire also provides strategic planning advice to owners, developers, promoters and housebuilders on major development schemes, including dealing with examinations in public, public inquiries and judicial review proceedings.
Craig has 20 years’ experience in commercial property acting for a variety of clients, in a number of sectors. He specialises in all aspects of commercial property work, with a particular emphasis on property finance, regularly acting for a wide variety of lenders, insolvency practitioners, property receivers, public bodies, charities, education institutions, investors, developers and commercial clients. Recent experience includes acting for a client on a conditional sale to a supermarket chain, an option to acquire commercial premises, acquisition of a disused airfield, a sale and lease back of an office and factory complex, acquisition of a ship building facility and the purchase of a cemetery. Craig leads the 20 strong real estate team based in Plymouth and heads our property finance work nationally. He led on the property elements of the Game administration following the collapse of the retailer (which had over 600 shops) at Easter 2012.
David is head of Private Wealth, and a member of the firm's board. He has over 20 years' experience at major national and international firms. David has built up a specialist knowledge in all areas that would affect an individual, his or her family and their business. As wealthy individuals' affairs become more complex, it is more and more rare to identify specialists who are familiar with both legal, taxation and investment matters. These rare qualities therefore, are ideal for leading the department and bringing the best out of each particular discipline to the clients' benefit. David is also accustomed to dealing with significantly wealthy individuals and their families. His work often involves working with wealthy individuals, business owners, lottery winners and beneficiaries of significant estates. His team of over 80 provides a wide range of services to private clients and charities, across the country.
Partner and Head of the transport sector, specialising in transport; railway franchising; railway-related projects.
David is the Head of the firm's national casualty liability and commercial & insurance recoveries teams. His experience covers employers’ and public liability, product liability, disease and motor claims. David deals exclusively with large loss and catastrophic claims, including brain injury, spinal cord injury, amputee cases and fatalities. He advises major insurers on the complexities of these types of cases and works closely with all parties to the claim to bring matters to a resolution. David's teams defend all types of personal injury and disease claims on behalf of insurers and commercial clients, as well as making subrogated and non-subrogated recovery claims.
Emma is a partner and head of the firm's charities and not for profit team. Emma’s clients are both national (Addaction, Katie Piper Foundation, Children in Need, Crisis UK) and regional (Mental Health Matters, Gateshead College, St John of God Hospitaller Services); and she has provided support to trustees and senior management on a variety of legal issues ranging from governance reviews and restructuring exercises, incorporations and mergers, fundraising trading and tax, and compliance with regulatory requirements. Emma is also an approved Interim Manager, appointed by the Charity Commission on cases where there are regulatory concerns relating to a charity. Emma's clients benefit from comprehensive advice in areas such as employment and pensions, data protection, property and health and safety. Emma's approach is to understand what her clients wish to achieve, so she can deliver excellent technical advice, but in a straightforward and commercial manner, focusing on solutions and outcomes. Emma has worked on a number of college mergers resulting from a consolidation of the FE sector, she has acted as Interim Manager for a charity in relation to high profile safeguarding concerns, and is Interim Manager for a charity with internal governance issues to resolve. Emma is supporting a large membership body in its move to independence (creating an entirely new constitutional and governance framework) and is working with a significant national charity looking to develop its partnership arrangements with commercial fundraising partners. Emma is immersed in the sector through her trustee roles, through her interaction with umbrella bodies and regulators. She is a regular speaker at events on issues affecting the sector, and is a member of bodies including ACEVO, CFG and AoC.
Fiona is a Partner, Head of the Real Estate Business Group and sits on the Management Board. She specialises in Real Estate with a particular emphasis on advising corporate occupiers. She has over 20 years’ experience dealing with acquisitions and disposals of investment, retail and industrial property, landlord and tenant issues and general estate and portfolio management. She is responsible for the provision of the firm’s Real Estate Services across a spectrum of specialisms and sector expertise.
Gavin is a partner specialising in work for national retailers with particular specialism in all areas of trading standards, health and safety and other regulatory issues. He advises clients in relation to advertising and publicity law and also deals with heavy commercial disputes for retailers, including supplier disputes, security matters and actions against suppliers of professional services. Gavin was commissioned by the BRC to write ‘Age Restricted Sales, Due Diligence and Best Practice’, a guide for retailers and employees and ‘A Retailer’s Guide to Legal Compliance’ which provides clear, practical advice for store managers in areas including health and safety, Sunday trading, environmental issues and employment.
Senior Counsel George is a personal tax and private/charitable trust specialist. He advises private clients from a holistic viewpoint and specialises in the taxation of private individuals, partnerships and trusts, and has particular experience of capital tax planning.
Graham is a partner specialising in banking. He has substantial experience in advising banks, financial institutions and borrowers on financial transactions specialising in project and asset finance as well as enjoying working pro-actively with clients to develop new financial products and structures. In the projects field Graham has extensive energy experience and has participated in industry forums including in relation to the viability of financing the Round 2 offshore wind farms and he has worked on the finance aspects of Zephyr II.
Hannah is a partner in the insurance group. She is a professional indemnity and dispute resolution lawyer specialising in the defence of high value and complex claims against construction and property professionals, including contractors, architects, engineers, surveyors, planners, property managers and interior designers. She is head of the firm’s construction insurance practice, leading a team of experienced construction insurance lawyers across our national offices. She acts for many of the major insurers regularly advises on policy coverage. She is a member of the British Property Federation’s Insurance Committee. Hannah also has significant experience defending other professionals, in particular, solicitors, accountants, brokers and independent financial advisers. The Legal 500 names Hannah as “tough yet commercially astute” and “incisive in her analysis” and that she “goes out of her way to put the clients’ needs at the heart of the excellent service she delivers”.
Senior Counsel and head of the private capital team within the firm’s private wealth department Helen advises on tax efficient wills and trusts, pre-death and post-death tax-planning strategies, including advising on death benefits under pension and life policies. Acts as a trustee for many family trusts and advises on trusteeships and trust management. Mainly acts for high-net-worth individuals and has a particular interest in cross border issues, issues affecting people suffering from physical or mental incapacity and in relation to end of life decision making. Helen is also a notary public.
Partner in property departments and head of public services team. Handles a wide variety of PFI/PPP projects in the health, education, blue light, energy and waste sectors, where he has advised health trusts, the Home Office, local authorities and private sector companies. Is also heavily involved in the higher education sector, advising universities and colleges.
Partner specialising in transactional construction and engineering matters. Experience includes real estate development, site remediation, social housing, energy and infrastructure but primary focus on education, health and local government regeneration projects. Considerable experience of major capital projects such as PFI/PPP, Building Schools for the Future/Priority Schools Building Programme and NHS LIFT schemes.
Ian is a corporate finance partner specialising in M&A, corporate reorganisations, shareholder and joint venture agreements. Ian has also had considerable experience in private equity transactions and has advised both private equity houses and management teams on their investments. Ian also worked in the Paris office of a leading international law firm where he gained considerable experience in advising UK and French companies on doing business in both France and the UK.
lan is a partner who advises in a broad range of high value and complex commercial disputes including those in connection with procurement, joint venture agreements, share purchase, IT and media disputes. He specialises in working for national retailers and energy companies, particularly in the downstream arena. Ian has a reputation for delivering results within commercial timescales and has become the dispute resolution lawyer of choice for a number of national retailers and one of the big six energy providers.
James specialises in professional risks work and acts for insurers and professional services firms in dealing with a wide variety of professional indemnity claims concerning solicitors, barristers, surveyors, accountants, financial advisers, insurance brokers, stockbrokers, IT specialists and other professionals. He also advises on policy coverage issues and has managed complex, multi claimant litigation involving a large volume of property related claims. James also has particular experience of professional regulatory work including complaints handling and advising a variety of professionals on disciplinary and regulatory investigations.
James is a partner and head of the firm’s property litigation team. He specialises in dispute resolution involving contentious commercial property matters, advising a broad range of clients (both landlords and tenants) in all aspects of contentious commercial property. Particular areas of expertise include dilapidations; service charges; restrictive covenants and easements; rent reviews; contractual and development disputes; nuisance claims; complex contested lease renewals; insolvency related disputes; contested rating appeals and boundary disputes. He has published articles and lectures to clients and property professionals on a wide variety of property litigation topics.
James is a partner and national head of Intellectual Property. His expertise extends to all aspects of intellectual property including patents, trade marks, copyright, designs, passing off, database rights and confidential information. He has top level experience, spanning more than 30 years, of the protection, exploitation, challenge and enforcement of intellectual property including disputes in the Supreme Court. Work examples include patent litigation, cybersquatting, intellectual asset management, anti-counterfeiting, brand enforcement, licensing, commercial contracts and franchising, mediation, IT and software issues, and search and seize orders (including as supervising solicitor). Assisted by a Cambridge University science degree, James is also a solicitor- advocate, giving him full rights of audience in the higher courts.
Jen is national head of the firm's property litigation team. Her practice covers all aspects of property-related litigation and advice on contentious aspects of property including rent reviews, lease renewals, dilapidations, breaches of covenant, restrictive covenants and easements. She acts for a diverse range of clients, including property developers, management companies, landed estates, property investors, banks and retailers.
Jeremy is a partner and head of the corporate tax team. He advises businesses generally on tax issues relating to their business activities and transactions with particular expertise in corporate and property acquisitions and disposals and employee share schemes.
Jo specialises in advising charities and those who work with charities on all aspects of charity law and regulation. Whether establishing new charitable organisations for philanthropists, or advising national household name charities on new projects, structures and ventures, Jo delivers complex projects efficiently and in a straightforward manner to ensure her clients can achieve more for their beneficiaries. Jo also has significant experience in conducting governance reviews of all types of charitable organisation, providing practical and tailored advice to help improve governance processes and systems. She has also advised membership charities on disagreements with their members. She advises across the range of charitable activity and has particular experience in advising religious bodies on restructuring and managing complex trust arrangements. Jo has also advised on many multi-party charity mergers, helping to guide her clients smoothly through the process. She also provides reassuring support when charities face financial difficulties and provides advice designed to ensure that trustees are protected from liability and the best outcome possible can be achieved for the charity and its purposes. With the Charity Commission becoming a more active regulator, Jo has advised numerous charities who need to report serious incidents, charities facing compliance visits and inspections and those who are subject to a section 46 Inquiry. Jo is currently the Chair of the Charity Law Association. She chaired the working party on the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 and gave evidence to the Joint Scrutiny Committee in the House of Lords. Jo lectures on issues of charity law and writes for the sector press.
John is the head of the firm's real estate sector. Clients include a full range of private and institutional real estate investors, registered providers, developers and funders. John has over 25 years' experience in the sector with particular focus on large scale finance related real estate transactions. The real estate sector team is well networked nationally, and provides a comprehensive range of integrated specialist skills including optioning and promoting strategic land, enfranchisement, environmental and regulatory, planning, real estate tax, real estate corporate vehicles, agricultural and rural property, public and private sector regeneration and procurement.
Partner in the banking team specialising in corporate finance, property lending and asset-based lending. Focussed on new lending and turnaround.
Jon is a partner specialising in health, safety and environment, whose work covers not only prosecution and enforcement action but also advisory work in relation to risk management, health and safety policies and due diligence in corporate transactions including advice on all aspects of health and safety. Jon’s practice encompasses all aspects of contentious and non-contentious health, safety and environmental issues including advising on formal investigations and prosecutions, advising on appeals against Notices and dealing with judicial review proceedings relating to health, safety and environmental issues. He regularly appears as an advocate before the criminal Courts and employment tribunals on health and safety matters. He also advises on formal investigations and Boards of Inquiry. He advises clients in the private and public sector, including on formal investigations by the Environment Agency and local authorities, criminal investigations and defending prosecutions, statutory nuisance proceedings on behalf of local authorities and others and advising on judicial review relating to environmental issues, particular in the nuclear industry. Jon and his team have been involved in many of the leading health, safety and environmental cases in recent years. He sits on the editorial Board of Lexis Nexis Health and Safety at Work magazine.
Jon is Head of the firm's employment team and also Head of the Southampton office. He specialises primarily in the transactional aspects of employment law and in particular has extensive experience of advising on the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006, both in relation to acquisitions and disposals and outsourcing agreements. He also advises on strategic employment law issues affecting his clients such as group reorganisations and board level restructuring.
Jonathan is a partner and head of the planning and Infrastructure team. His expertise includes major infrastructure, compulsory purchase orders (CPOs), highways, town and country planning and compensation. Jonathan acts for several local authorities and commercial clients both promoting and opposing schemes including a retail and highway schemes for local authorities and a gas storage scheme requiring CPO powers. He has promoted a CCGT power station and offshore wind farms requiring Development Consent Orders and has acted for statutory undertakers making representations in connection with other schemes. He appeared as a Parliamentary Agent for a number of petitioners in the House of Commons on HS2 and represented some petitioners in the House of Lords. Jonathan acts on a number of Lands Tribunal compensation claims for both claimants and acquiring authorities. He also lectures regularly on CPOs & development and has written articles on both policy and legal issues. He is a council member of the National Infrastructure Planning Association. - See more at: http://www.legal500.com/firms/910-bond-dickinson-llp/offices/7971-bristol-england/lawyers/113284#sthash.C8C3gB6E.dpuf
Jon is a partner in the real estate team. He specialises in investment transactions and leads a number of our key investor client teams, including for Tristan Capital and Moorfield. Jon acts on all core aspects of real estate direct investment transactions across the UK, including acquisitions, development and disposals and real estate support on property financing. In recent years he has been particularly active in value add and core plus markets. Jon also leads a busy and highly effective asset management team.
Jonathan is a former Managing Partner of many years' experience, leading the strategic and operational direction of Womble Bond Dickinson and its predecessors for 14 years.Using his extensive knowledge of the legal sector, Jonathan now heads WBD's Professional Practices Group advising professional service businesses on strategic and operational matters across the UK and beyond. Jonathan is the Head of the London office. Jonathan sits on WBD's global board and is an active member of WBD's International Group.
Julian is a highly skilled technology lawyer, having been involved with technology law since 1998. Julian’s main areas of practice are in information technology and e-commerce, including the development and licensing of software, outsourcing, online and cloud services. He also advises on data protection issues, usually relating to the use and transfer of customer data in IT implementations, and on intellectual property rights, particularly in the context of open source software and website/software development.
Partner acting for insolvency practitioners, banks, asset-based lenders and companies in formal and advisory roles, such as restructuring and turnaround, including manufacturing, retail, hospitality, energy, real estate and service industries with particular expertise in contentious asset recovery cases.
Katherine specialises in commercial property with particular expertise in relation to acquisitions, disposals and regeneration and development work. She has broad experience in drafting and negotiating development agreements, building leases, occupational leases and other ancillary documentation. Katherine is also experienced in acting for both landlords and corporate occupier tenants in drafting and negotiating conditional agreements for lease, leases and other ancillary documentation required for all landlord and tenant relations. She advises numerous local authorities and public sector clients on their property needs. Recent work includes advising South Gloucestershire Council and the University of Bath on the acquisition of Bristol and Bath Science Park and advising the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice on their property portfolios.
Kevin is head of the firm’s Projects and Procurement team. He has extensive experience of advising public sector bodies in relation to a range of commercial matters including public private partnerships and has particular expertise in projects in the education sector where he leads the firm’s Education Group. He advises a broad range of clients including local and central government bodies, universities, further education colleges, academy trusts, Diocesan bodies and private sector contractors.
Kevin is a partner in the transport practice and is highly experienced in advising on heavy and light rail franchise and concessions bids, bus franchise bids, ground transportation contract bids, franchise mobilisations and related statutory transfer schemes, rolling stock leasing and a variety of commercial and regulatory matters. He acts for a number of passenger transport operators (including Go-Ahead, Govia, Arriva, SNCF, Keolis, LNER, Transdev and Tower Transit) and recently advised a private sector bus operator on its bid for the Greater Manchester Bus Franchising scheme, Transdev on the provision of fleet management services at Heathrow Airport and Chiltern Railways/Arriva on various regulatory matters related to the mobilisation of its new national rail contract. Kevin has also acted for concession letting authorities, local airports and rolling stock manufacturers.
Leon is a partner in the corporate team based in London. Leon advises clients on a broad range of corporate finance transactions spanning the UK capital markets (especially AIM) and private equity, typically involving high growth companies. He has particular expertise advising on public and private M&A and financing through both debt and equity. He has sector knowledge of the oil & gas/mining sectors as well as technology, retail and other consumer-orientated businesses. Leon advised Tekmar Group plc on its admission to AIM in June 2018 raising £61.8m, the shareholders of NCE Group Limited on the sale of the company to Park Place Technologies Inc. in August 2017, AIM listed Hydro International plc on the £28m recommended offer by Hanover in 2016 and Opsec Security plc on the £66.7m recommended offer by Investcorp Technology in 2015.
Senior Counsel Mark has extensive experience of advising high net worth individuals, banks and trust companies on inheritance and capital gains tax planning. He acts principally for families advising on protecting assets and ensuring that they pass to the next generation tax efficiently through wills and trusts. Mark acts as trustee for many family trusts. He also advises individuals on tax efficient giving to charities and acts for charities on a wide range of issues, including governance and charity Commission regulation.
Mark is a partner and specialises in commercial property disputes including possession claims, lease renewals, rent reviews, dilapidations and restrictive covenants, as well as the wider range of property issues such as adverse possession and squatters, restrictive covenants and rights of way. He also acts in property related professional negligence claims, having considerable experience of such claims against solicitors and surveyors. Mark conducts dispute resolutions through the County Court and High Court, The First Tier and Upper Tribunals and through arbitration. Mark also has an interest in riparian rights and issues around moorings, and in addition has acted for a number of landowners in connection with issues arising out of the Telecoms Code. He is qualified as a Higher Courts Advocate, and frequently uses mediation to resolve disputes. He is an experienced speaker on property issues.
Martin specialises in commercial real estate developments/regeneration and investment sales and purchases, acting not only for public sector bodies but also funds and developers. Martin also has over 15 years’ experience of non-contentious construction work advising in relation to large town centre redevelopments in particular. Martin is currently leading on a number of large town centre redevelopment projects, acting for local authorities. Martin also works for a number of telecoms clients in relation to their real estate work.
Partner; specialises in property development (commercial and residential), commercial property investment (purchasers, sellers, landlords and tenants), energy and infrastructure projects (developers and landowners), railways and insolvency aspects of property.
Neil is an experienced private client lawyer, with a particular specialism in trust and estate disputes. Neil advises individuals, families, charities and trustees on the validity of wills and trusts; the conduct of executors and trustees; the rights of beneficiaries; and all related issues such as mental capacity, undue influence, construction and interpretation of wills and trusts; and claims for financial provision under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. He has extensive experience of negotiation, mediation and litigation, having conducted cases in the Family and Chancery Divisions of the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Protection. Neil also has a strong non-contentious practice advising clients on wills and inheritance tax. Neil regularly acts as executor, trustee and deputy (particularly as an independent professional in disputed cases).
Nick is a partner, head of the commercial team and UK Chair of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP. He has over 20 years’ experience of advising on commercial projects of all types. He is often asked to provide strategic input into a variety of complex and business critical projects across a broad range of industrial, consumer goods and retail businesses. He is recognised for his commercial acumen and solution-driven approach. His main area of expertise is in relation to outsourcing, particularly logistics, supply chain management and third party services contracts. These have included a number of large contracts for the outsourcing of specialist services as well as the setting up and ongoing management of fulfilment and installation services managed by third parties. Nick is client partner for a number of well-known clients including national retailers, hospitality companies and other major FTSE or equivalent companies and is often asked to provide input into a variety of strategic and business critical projects. Work undertaken involves a wide spectrum of business support functions, including all aspects of outsourced operations including open and closed book distribution and warehousing agreements, business process outsourcing, collaborative partnering arrangements, development and implementation of new business models and business re-engineering of key business operations.
Nicki is a partner and the firm's General Counsel and together with her team they assist the firm's Board in defining the firm's risk strategy and in designing, monitoring, training and improving our service standards and procedures, risk reporting, regulatory compliance, internal audit services, client service complaints, ISO 9001 and 27001 accreditation and business continuity/ disaster recovery. Nicki also advises General Counsel and in-house legal teams on their own risk and regulatory compliance obligations. Nicki's team advises on contractual terms with the firm's suppliers and clients. Nicki came to the firm from the City where she dealt with a number of international corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, privatisations, joint ventures and off shore funds.
Nicola is a partner in the Real Estate team based in London specialising in Real Estate Finance. She has over 16 years' experience, acting predominantly for UK lending institutions on all aspects of real estate finance transactions. Nicola’s extensive experience covers various specialised sectors including retail, student accommodation, hospitality, housebuilding, institutional funds and healthcare sectors. She has extensive experience in advising leading UK financial services institutions on a broad range of real estate and finance transactions, including financing a number of sizeable UK commercial, residential and mixed-use properties both on an investment and development basis.
Head of the Housing Group which comprises: PRS/BTR: Grainger, Akelius, Hearthstone Investments, Dorrington, Walworth Investment Properties, Southern Properties, Allsop. Housebuilder: Bellway, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey. Social/Affordable: Places for People, Karbon, Bernicia, Broadacres, Thirteen, Accent, Home Group, Plymouth Community Homes, Byker Community Trust, Rentplus. Retirement: Retirement Bridge.
Corporate finance, company, transport, project and structured finance, finance.
As Managing Partner, Paul is responsible for the strategic and operational management of Womble Bond Dickinson (UK) LLP. Paul has experience of a wide range of contractual and tortious disputes, which includes significant experience of both High Court proceedings and alternative dispute resolution processes, particularly mediation, expert determination and arbitration. He regularly advises clients in relation to disputes in the rail and wider transport sectors (including disputes governed by the rail industry’s dispute resolution regime and public law issues) and routinely acts for many of our larger chemicals and manufacturing clients.
Paula head's up the firm's UK commercial team (which incorporates five sub-teams: commercial contracts & supply chain, competition, data & privacy, intellectual property and technology). She specialises in commercial contract law and has extensive experience of advising on and negotiating complex contractual arrangements for clients in various sectors. Paula also has strong project management skills with extensive experience of leading large cross office, multidisciplinary teams in the delivery of major projects.
Peter is a partner in the Restructuring and Insolvency Team. He qualified in 1998 having completed his training with the firm. Peter has a wealth of corporate and personal insolvency experience acting for both private and public sector clients. Peter acts for Insolvency Practitioners specialising in investigations and litigation in cases involving misfeasance, fraud and other misconduct. Peter is also a member of the team which acts for The Insolvency Service, an executive agency of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, in relation to a range of public interest work. This includes public interest winding up proceedings against live companies and the investigation and disqualification of directors of insolvent companies under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. Peter also acts for Insolvency Practitioners in conjunction with HM Revenue & Customs in relation to a range of insolvency related matters.
Partner in the commercial team and head of chemicals and manufacturing sector group. Responsibility for the firm’s multinational and SME clients in the chemicals sector. Provides advice in relation to all manner of commercial arrangements to our corporate clients generally.
Philip is a partner in the banking and financial services team. He has extensive experience advising both lenders and borrowers on a range of acquisition, asset, development, real estate, structured and project finance transactions. Philip advises on structuring, risk allocation and security/collateral issues. Philip specialises in complex financing transactions in the financial services sector. His capital markets, investment/treasury products and derivatives expertise provides specialist support for a number of financial institution and other clients.
Richard is a partner in the planning and infrastructure team. His expertise includes town and country planning, judicial reviews and statutory challenges, compulsory purchase, highways, and the consenting of major infrastructure projects. Richard has advised on successful development consent order (DCO) applications for rail, biomass and offshore wind projects and is currently advising a consortium of local authorities on their DCO scheme for restoring passenger services to a local railway and several major road schemes.
Richard is a partner in the commercial disputes team. He specialises in high-value commercial litigation. Richard has experience of a broad range of commercial and contentious matters including disputes arising out of complex financial products, pensions disputes, professional negligence matters, shareholder disputes and substantial multi-jurisdictional contractual claims. He also specialises in contentious procurement matters and has a particular focus on the financial services, transport and public sectors.
Robert is a corporate finance partner in the Corporate Team based in Newcastle, with over 25 years’ experience of advising clients on private and public company mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, domestic and international joint ventures and corporate governance. In over 20 years working in the North East corporate marketplace as part of an award winning regional firm, Robert has advised on some of the most significant transactions in the region and worked with some of the region’s best known entrepreneurs and businesses. Robert’s specialisation is working with owner-managers and shareholders around strategic direction and maximising value when exiting their companies and also on the reverse side of those transactions, acting for corporates acquiring new businesses and companies as part of growth strategies. Robert has been named Insider’s North-East corporate lawyer of the year on three separate occasions – and worked on 4 of the awards’ ceremony “Deal of the Year” in the North East Region. Robert has recently worked on projects including: the IPO of Tekmar Group PLC; the disposal of RIBA Enterprises Ltd (trading as NBS) by RIBA and its co-investment alongside LDC; the AVX Corporation acquisition of the TT Electronics PLC business; and MPac's strategic disposal of its cigarette and packaging division. These transactions follow on from projects in the region in bringing Quantum Pharma PLC, Ulilitywise PLC and Vertu PLC to the AIM market.
Senior Counsel Robert has extensive experience of acting for a range of both individual and institutional farmers and landowners in relation to agricultural and rural matters. These include estate management issues, landlord and tenant matters, sales, purchases and lettings and a particular bias towards acting for landowners wishing to maximise development opportunities and to secure other income streams from land.
Sally is a partner in the restructuring and insolvency team with over 25 years' experience. Sally specialises in investigative work, civil fraud and asset recovery and leads the public interest work which the firm undertakes for The Insolvency Service (an executive agency of The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy), including investigations, directors' disqualification and public interest winding up proceedings. Sally has provided advice and strategic direction in relation to many high profile, sensitive and complex investigations and subsequent proceedings.
Sam specialises in advising various stakeholders in relation to distressed businesses, charities and providers of public services; especially in scenarios with a continuity of supply requirement or which involve complex stakeholder management. He is a qualified insolvency practitioner (non-practising) and has 18 months' experience in a non-legal banking role within the business support team of Lloyds Bank. He has particular experience in the education, healthcare and technology sectors.
Sasha is a partner in the property disputes team and specialises in dispute resolution involving all aspects of property management and general commercial property disputes. Sasha has particular expertise in commercial landlord and tenant disputes and strategic management of national portfolios (including complex 1954 Act opposed and non-opposed lease renewals, dilapidations, rent reviews, consents and termination). Other areas of specialism include development disputes, rights of way, restrictive covenants, rights of light, boundaries and title disputes and advising on the construction and implementation of option agreements and overage. Sasha acts for a wide range of household names in several sectors including retail, developers and investor, energy and transport. She also advises numerous public sector clients, acting for several local authorities and leading on property disputes work for the Ministry of Justices' national portfolio.
Sebastian is a partner specialising in mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganisations, financing and joint ventures. He has particular expertise in the energy sector. He has acted on transactions for the sale, purchase, financing or investment in more than 75 renewable energy projects with a combined capacity in excess of 5GW, including RWE Npower’s groundbreaking Zephyr transaction. His experience includes onshore and offshore wind, biomass, wave and tidal, waste to energy, geothermal, combined heat and power, solar and energy storage projects. In addition to his transactional experience, Sebastian advises corporate clients on governance and other risk and compliance related matters. He regularly presents seminars on these subjects.
Transactional construction work. Head of the Construction Team, Simon acts nationally for clients from all disciplines of the construction industry: investors, developers, funders, house builders in the private sector, as well as public sector clients, including Government Departments, local authorities and registered providers. Particular emphasis on development work in the Education and Residential sectors but also experienced in process engineering, and energy work.
Simon is Senior Counsel in the firm's corporate finance team and has led many major corporate transactions and projects. Simon advises on a broad range of corporate matters, but mainly M&A transactions, joint ventures, private equity investments, acting for investor, company or management, and corporate reorganisations. Whilst Simon has advised on a diverse range of businesses, he has particular energy sector, and oil and gas, expertise. Simon regularly advises on cross border and international transactions.
Simon is a partner specialising in real estate with particular reference to infrastructure development work. He leads the firm’s energy and natural resources real estate team and has extensive experience of project development work in relation to both renewable energy and conventional power generation projects, including CCGT power stations and lengthy linear schemes for both gas pipelines and electricity cables. Simon acts for numerous public and private companies and currently has instructions involving various clean energy technologies including onshore and offshore wind, biomass, solar, waste to energy and wave as well as conventional power projects.
Simon is a partner and advises individuals, families, charities and trusts in relation to a wide range of legal, commercial and personal issues. He also acts as a trustee for many significant landowning families – and seeks innovative solutions to the many challenges that the ownership of landed estates presents. He advises private and commercial investors in the acquisition and management of farms and estates – covering sporting, agricultural and commercial aspects. Simon regularly lectures at seminars and conferences.
Simon is a partner and deals with dispute resolution including international arbitration work. Specialises in infrastructure, PFI/PPP, offshore, oil and gas and energy sector disputes. Acts for all sectors of the construction industry. Writes and lectures extensively on construction law issues and the digital built environment, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at the faculty of engineering and environment at Northumbria University.
Simon leads the firm's corporate team in Leeds and is a highly experienced corporate transactional lawyer with over 25 years’ experience in a huge variety of corporate transactions. He has significant and varied experience in private M&A and private equity having advised numerous PE funds, management teams and corporate and individual sellers over the years. Simon has worked in the recent past with a wide range of clients including Cairngorm Capital, North Edge Capital, Endless LLP and LDC.
Head of company and commercial department. Specialises in corporate transactions (public and private) and advisory work, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, flotations, demergers and corporate reorganisations. Experienced in a range of sectors including chemicals, transport, property and leisure. Clients include public as well as substantial private companies.
Stephen is a partner and the head of the corporate team. He specialises in corporate finance work, in particular M&A, private equity, corporate reorganisations and joint ventures. He regularly advises public and private corporates as well as owner managed businesses and management teams. Recent experience includes a £23m share acquisition for a FTSE listed company, advising an unlisted plc on a disposal programme and an international group reorganisation for a client which is group headquartered in Paris. Key deals he is working on are a £24m acquisition and a £40m acquisition, both for an unlisted plc. Stephen has given talks on developments in the corporate market for a variety of audiences and regularly contributes to client briefings on current corporate and finance legal developments.
Stephen is a partner specialising in commercial litigation. He leads the commercial litigation team in the South West. Stephen deals with complex, heavyweight disputes, based on giving clear, concise and commercial advice to our clients that adds real value to their businesses. He makes extensive use of ADR, mediation and creative fee structures (including the use of litigation funding, discounted Conditional Fee Agreements, ATE insurance and fixed fees) and sharing the litigation risk with our clients to set us apart from our competitors both nationally and in the City. His experience includes supply chain disputes, IT disputes, breach of contract, stock and asset recovery, guarantee claims, fraud, misrepresentation, advice on directors duties, insolvency disputes, banking and FI litigation and shareholder claims.
Sushma MacGeoch is Head of Insurance Disputes at Womble Bond Dickinson, leading the national team based in London, Bristol and Southampton. Sushma has over 25 years’ experience as a professional indemnity and construction specialist. She is an expert in the defence of complex high value claims against solicitors, valuers, accountants, brokers and construction professionals, to include architects engineers and contractors. Sushma also regularly acts as coverage counsel. Sushma’s clients include major Insurers and construction companies. Sushma is ranked as a Leading Individual in Legal 500. Legal 500 2020 refers to Sushma as "a stand-out partner.. [she] has enormous courage and steely determination which is matched with poise and finesse" and that she "is an exceptional professional; her knowledge, style, resilience and personality are what set her aside and ensure she is the leader of this impressive and growing team." Recent experience includes: defending solicitors in £130m claim arising from credit hire litigation handled on behalf of Insurers; defending accountants in £15m film finance litigation; defending groundworks contractor in multiparty £12m claim arising from failure of floor slab in warehouse distribution centre resulting in landmark decision in Co-Op Group Limited v Birse Developments Limited and others on limitation in claims against construction professionals; defending architects on £40m claim arising from failure of commercial complex; acting as coverage counsel on block notification by brokers with potential claim value exceeding £80m. Sushma MacGeoch was shortlisted for Women in Finance Insurance Leader of the Year Award 2019. Under Sushma's leadership, the Womble Bond Dickinson Insurance Disputes team has won a number of accolades to include Insurance Team of the Year 2017 Legal Business Awards; Shortlisted for Insurance Firm of the Year 2017 Post Claims Awards; Highly Commended in FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2017 for Private Edge Product developed with AIG: Winner of Commercial Insurance Law Firm of the Year UK – 2018 Lawyer Monthly Legal Awards; Legal 500 award for Insurance Firm (Specialism) of the Year for our expertise in professional negligence in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Suzanne's work at the firm has been varied, including liability management exercises (scheme closures, modifying accrual, implementing cash balance schemes, buy in and buy out annuity policies), merger projects, advising on corporate restructuring for employers in financial difficulties, clearance applications for merger and acquisition work, scheme documentation projects, pension ombudsman claims and other litigation matters. Her regulatory expertise has been of significant use to many of the team's company and trustee clients and she works closely with the firm's Corporate Recovery Team on matters which may involve the Pension Protection Fund.
Tim is a partner in the employment team. He has a wide range of experience spanning the whole human resources spectrum. He has significant experience advising on employment tribunal litigation, Board disputes, business protection actions, union and collective consultation issues and high value/sensitive discrimination matters. He also has a wide range of commercial experience, including transactional, strategic and day-to-day Human Resources support. He has overseen a number of major reorganisation and redundancy projects in a number of different industry sectors. Tim qualified as a pensions and employee incentives lawyer at Allen & Overy. He worked in the City between 1993 and 1997 and this experience gives him the ability to advise on matters which overlap between employment and pensions disciplines. Tim edited the employment chapter in Jordans Secretarial Administration for five years and speaks regularly at training events.
Having previously headed up the London office of a specialist professional indemnity firm, Tim moved to WBD's London office in 2018 as a partner specialising in the defence of professional negligence claims against a broad range of professionals including solicitors, accountants, insurance brokers, insolvency practitioners, IFAs, surveyors and construction professionals. He also advises on high value, complex insurance coverage disputes and is regarded as a key player in the professional indemnity insurance market. Tim is well known for representing solicitors across a broad range of practice areas and is a trusted legal adviser to a number of top 50 UK law firms. Tim also advises law firms on regulatory, disciplinary and risk related issues.
Tim is a partner in the real estate team and specialises in development. His expertise includes advising housebuilders, landowners, occupiers, local authorities and public sector bodies predominantly on residential (including build to rent and affordable housing) but also student accommodation, mixed use, office, retail and industrial/warehouse schemes. Tim also has considerable experience in investment acquisitions and disposals, particularly portfolio transactions.
Tom is a corporate partner with specialist private equity, insurance and real estate experience. He works for a number of international, national and south west clients including: private equity investors such as LDC and Piper; insurance clients such as Arch Insurance and Howden Broking Group; property investors such as Moorfield Group; and many south west businesses. Recent work includes acting for: LDC on its investment in digital media company Hybrid; Piper Private Equity on its £33m investment in pet accessories brand Omlet; Arch Reinsurance on its acquisition of Somerset Bridge and Southern Rock from shareholders including Arron Banks; Howden Broking Group on its acquisition on Medical Professional Risk Solutions; Moorfield Group on the £102m sale of a logistics portfolio to Carlyle and ARA Dunedin; Definition Capital on the sale of East London Hotel to Avelios and Crestline; the shareholders of Taste Connection on a sale to Nactarome, backed by Ambienta; and NCR on a significant acquisition
Tom is a partner in the Residential team within the Real Estate business group, with a particular focus on residential development and investment. Tom acts for a number of house-builders and residential property investors and has expertise in site acquisition and assembly; development agreements; forward funding agreements; conditional contracts; options; collaboration and joint venture agreements. Tom acts for a number of plc house-builders including Bellway, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon and for residential investors including Grainger and the Hearthstone Residential Investment Fund. Tom is at the forefront of our Build To Rent offering and acts for a number of developers and investors, specialising in the forward funding of newly built Private Rented Sector sites, including mixed use developments. In addition, Tom oversees the firm's volume plot sales team, acting for a number of plc and small to medium sized house-builders, transacting in excess of 1,400 plots each year.
Tom is a partner and heads the Dispute Resolution Group. He has substantial experience in dealing with complex high-value matters related to energy (particularly upstream oil and gas), and IT/IP technology fields. In addition Tom deals with general corporate litigation work such as shareholder disputes and breach of warranty claims. He has wide experience of multi-jurisdictional disputes. Tom is also on the Board.
Tracy is a partner in the pensions team with particular expertise of public sector pension schemes (Head of the Public and Voluntary Sector Pensions Unit within the Pensions Team), pension scheme mergers, the employer debt regime, the pensions aspects of corporate transactions (including the Pensions Regulator’s moral hazard powers and Beckmann rights), and scheme funding arrangements (including complex escrow structures and liability hedging).
Vicki is a partner in the planning and infrastructure team, specialising in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious planning matters. Vicki’s expertise covers planning, environmental, highways and compulsory purchase law. Vicki has advised on many regeneration and infrastructure schemes, including negotiating complex planning and highway agreements. Recent experience includes advising on judicial review and statutory challenges; advising at called-in and recovered appeals advising on planning enforcement matters, the submission and examination of a number of DCO applications for offshore wind, CCGT, biomass and transport related schemes, and providing strategic advice on mixed-use and housing schemes across the country. Vicki also advises on Neighbourhood Planning including Neighbourhood Development Orders.
Will specialises in commercial real estate finance and investment and acts for many of the main UK clearing banks and other niche lenders on the property aspects on investment and development projects as well as peer to peer lenders. He also has a wealth of experience in investment sales and acquisitions for several of the firm's key investor clients, and leads an experienced asset management team for a family office client. Will's experience also includes advising local authorities on major regeneration projects.
William is a partner and real estate specialist. He acts for investor clients (including the Church Commissioners for England, TR Property Investment Trust plc, F&C, First Alliance Properties and Rockspring) on direct investment acquisitions, disposals and portfolio management. He is also real estate partner for several key clients of the firm, including Associated British Ports, Historic England and Go Ape.