Acuity Law

Adam is an associate in our Employment team. He has a broad range of experience with both contentious and non-contentious employment matters, and was awarded the “Rising Star of the Year” in the 2022 Wales Legal Awards. Adam is passionate about using technology to create strategic advantages and improve efficiencies. He was instrumental in developing some of our key products, including Acuity’s Redundancy Costs Calculator and our IR35 Assist assessment tool. The Wales Legal Awards referred to Adam’s work as “bespoke industry-leading legal solutions”. He has become a regular presenter for ICAEW’s Members in Business Conferences on recent and upcoming employment law updates. He recently participated at LawTech UK event “The Future of Lawtech in Wales”, and has built a strong relationship with universities, guest lecturing on various topics from employment law to commercial awareness. Through his relationship with Cardiff University, Adam supports future lawyers by providing pro bono advice to start-ups through the Business Enterprise pro bono scheme. Adam is a former Chair of the Cardiff Junior Lawyers Division.

Aisha Wardell

Aisha leads the Commercial Litigation team alongside Hugh Hitchcock. She is instructed on commercial disputes across a wide range of industries, in both High Court litigation and international arbitration, and has a strong track record of dealing with sector disputes, including energy and sustainability, public procurement, and information technology. Aisha is consistently noted in The Legal 500 as a strong litigator and has been described by clients as perceptive, thoughtful and tenacious. Expertise: Commercial contract disputes Procurement challenges Restructuring and contentious recovery work Banking disputes Director and shareholder disputes Professional negligence Defamation, privacy and reputation management

Aled Griffiths

Aled has built an eminent reputation as a commercial property partner with over 40 years of practice. He has spent much of his career at City firms, before joining a national law firm in 2013. He specialises in commercial and residential investment property transactions, particularly for overseas clients. He also deals with leasehold and freehold sales and purchases, statutory lease extensions and commercial lease renewals. Aled has acted for well-known commercial property investors and public companies. Outside his professional life, he is passionate about his collection of cars and motorbikes. Expertise: Commercial investment property transactions Residential investment property transactions Leasehold and freehold sales and purchases Statutory lease extensions Commercial lease renewals

Alexandra Chater

Having trained and practised for many years in the City, Alexandra is highly experienced in all areas of commercial property. Her expertise includes acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant work and client portfolio management. Outside of the law, Alexandra enjoys a wide range of sport and recently cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats. Expertise: Commercial property transactions Acquisitions and disposals Landlord and tenant Portfolio management

Andrew McGlashan

Andrew is a partner in our Corporate Team. He is an accomplished M&A, capital markets and corporate specialist with a City background, having trained at Fox Williams and previously practised at BDB Pitmans. Andrew is highly experienced in capital markets transactions, acting for listed companies, nominated advisors and brokers in relation to IPOs, fundraisings and reverse takeovers. He also has vast experience in supporting private equity funds, as well as in advising both sellers and buyers on domestic and cross-border M&A transactions with deal values of up to £100 million. Andrew is extremely conversant with the start-up ecosystem, having spent a number of years advising start-ups, founders, university spinouts, universities and incubators. He works closely with a number of London-based universities and a variety of co-working spaces and incubators to provide legal help to their start-up companies. He also acts as a mentor to early-stage founders. In addition, Andrew handles general corporate and corporate governance matters. Outside of the Law, Andrew enjoys playing sports, including football, golf, rugby and cricket, and is an avid American football fan. He is also a former director of the Swansea City Supporters Trust (a shareholder of Swansea Football Club). Andrew is a very average guitarist but keen music fan, and likes cooking so much he almost became a chef. Expertise: Mergers and acquisitions Capital markets transactions Advising entrepreneurs, start-ups, university spin-outs, incubators and universities Private equity transactions Corporate governance

Angharad Evans

Angharad is a member of our Creative Industries team. A media and entertainment veteran, she has spent two decades in the film and television industry, supporting broadcasters, producers, financiers and distributors. Having many years’ experience heading an in-house legal team at a leading broadcaster, Angharad is focused on pinpointing the key commercial issues and delivering practical advice without jargon or legalese. She represents producers, providing advice on joint ventures, complex co-production arrangements, programme financing agreements, format agreements, commissioning agreements, development and option agreements, distribution and sales agency agreements, production pack documents and bespoke writer and actor agreements. As Head of Legal and Business Affairs for Welsh-language public service broadcaster S4C until 2018, Angharad drafted and advised on all commissioning and co-financing agreements, handling blanket and standard licencing negotiations with unions and collecting societies, as well as programme compliance issues. She also negotiated and advised on all broadcast technology agreements, drafting S4C’s highly complex IT and technology outsourcing agreement under whichS4C outsourced its entire broadcasting and technical capabilities to BBC Wales. Prior to working at S4C, Angharad spent several years as a film finance lawyer at SJ Berwin, advising financiers, producers and distributors on all aspects of multiparty financing, talent agreement and chain of title issues. Angharad was appointed a member of the Ofcom Advisory Committee Wales in 2022, and is a board member of Ffotogallery, the leading Welsh photography charity. Expertise: Broadcasting and broadcasting compliance Commissioning agreements Co-productions and content distribution Film and television co-financing Joint content development initiatives IP licensing Software development IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing

Anisha Patel

Anisha is a senior associate and an integral member of the Real Estate team. She is experienced dealing in a broad range of property transactions, focusing predominantly on real estate finance. Anisha acts for several private funders in relation to the funding of residential developments, and advises many of the department’s key clients in relation to regeneration and development projects, as well as on the property aspects of transactions. Expertise: Advising on landlord and tenant matters Advising on property aspects of real estate finance transactions Advising on acquisitions and disposals Advising on property aspects of corporate transactions Advising on commercial and residential developments

Ben Honour

Ben is a partner in our Real Estate team with extensive experience in development, acquisitions and disposals and landlord and tenant law. He specialises in acquisitions and disposals of commercial property and development work. Ben works on some of the most high-profile property transactions in the department. In particular, he played a key role alongside Gareth Baker on various aspects of the Rightacres developments at Central Square. He also led on Rightacres’ letting of a Penarth Road property to Cardiff and Vale College, the acquisition, development, and sale of One Canal Parade by Rightacres, and the £15 million sale of a landmark office in Leeds city centre. Ben is well respected by clients and is the “go-to” real estate person for several clients whom he has worked with for several years, including South Wales Land Developments Limited, Peter’s Food Services, Jardine Norton and Owens Road Services Limited. Expertise: Development Acquisitions and disposals Landlord and tenant law

Beverley Jones

Beverley leads our Banking & Finance team and co-leads our Corporate team. She has dedicated her career to supporting clients with corporate transactions, corporate finance, and funding packages. Beverley has specialist knowledge in advising both institutional lenders and borrowers on the full spectrum of banking and finance work, from routine working capital facilities to acquisition funding and complex project finance packages, as well as receivables and asset finance, and revolving credit facilities. On the corporate side, she is highly experienced in leading complex and high-value corporate transactions, including acquisitions, disposals, mergers, investments, fundraisings and joint ventures. Beverley has extensive expertise in the healthcare sector and acts for a number of highly regarded clients, including Hartford Care Group, LifeCare Residences Limited and Choice Care Group. In addition, she is the lead legal adviser to Principality Building Society, the sixth-largest building society in the UK and the largest in Wales. She was a key player in its funding of an ambitious, £100+ million residential-led urban regeneration project on the site of an old paper mill. Other noteworthy corporate and corporate finance clients include AIM-listed Brickability Group and Facilities by ADF plc. For three years in a row, in 2019, 2020 and 2021, Beverley was shortlisted as Dealmaker of the Year in the Insider Wales Dealmakers Awards – the first female lawyer in Wales to have been nominated. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity-funded transactions and PE-backed buy and build strategies Banking and finance transactions, including complex and structured arrangements Commercial projects and contracts, including long-term contracts and joint ventures

Chelsey Bishop

Chelsey is an Associate in the firm’s real estate department. She graduated from the University of Lancaster in 2016 and then interned at a Chambers in Hong Kong where she focused on construction contracts before she completed her LPC course at BBP in 2017. She went on to qualify into real estate in October 2019 and worked at Birketts LLP prior to joining Acuity. Chelsey has gained experience in a wide range of real estate transactions which includes landlord and tenant matters such as drafting and negotiating leases, licences and supplemental documents as well as investment sales and acquisitions of commercial, mixed-use and residential property (both leasehold and freehold). Chelsey also has a broad range of experience in real estate finance matters which include the acquisition and funding of development sites for developers and the acquisition and funding of park home and caravan sites, having acted on matters in excess of £300m as well acting on a number of portfolio transactions and refinancings which involved the preparation and negotiation of CLLS Certificates of Title. Expertise: Advising on landlord and tenant matters Advising on property aspects of real estate finance transactions Advising on acquisitions and disposals Advising on property aspects of corporate transactions Advising on commercial and residential developments

Chiara Howfield

Chiara is a Senior Associate in the Corporate team at Acuity Law. She has broad-based expertise across a full range of corporate matters, including mergers, acquisitions, disposals, and investments. Chiara is experienced in advising clients across the gamut of industry sectors, both nationally and internationally, and has been active in many of the team’s most high-profile matters. She has a particular focus on the healthcare sector, and has assisted leading healthcare clients on UK acquisitions, reorganisations, shareholder matters, and refinances. Chiara was nominated as Emerging Dealmaker of the Year in the 2022 Wales Insider Dealmaker Awards. Expertise: Mergers, acquisitions and disposals Shareholders’ agreements and investment agreements Company reorganisations and restructures Banking and financing

Chris Aldridge

Senior Associate in BPE's Employment team, Chris assist clients from sole traders to PLCs with their employment matters. He advises on Employment Tribunal claims, complex disciplinary and grievance issues (including whistleblowing and discrimination) capability and sickness absence management, redundancies and restructures, TUPE consultation, corporate support and senior level exists including settlement agreements.

Christian Farrow

Christian co-leads our Corporate team and regularly advises listed and private companies on acquisitions, disposals, mergers, IPOs, fundraisings and joint ventures, frequently with a cross-border aspect. His unrivalled track record in leading on multimillion-pound transactions across a range of sectors, most notably in financial services and renewables, means that he is highly regarded by his clients and peers alike. Over the years, Christian has advised on many landmark transactions and regularly acts opposite contemporaries at large, national and top-tier City law firms. His impressive client list reflects his status as a trusted lead adviser for heavyweight clients both within Welsh business and beyond, with prominent names including Admiral Group Plc and FTSE-listed Capita Plc among his portfolio of clients. Christian’s contribution to the deal market in Wales has been frequently recognised within the business community, where he was most recently nominated as Dealmaker of the Year in the 2022 Insider Wales Dealmakers Awards. He is ranked as a leading individual in Wales by The Legal 500. Christian champions the innovative use of new technology to improve deal efficiency and client experience. He has created a pioneering legal platform-based product, Document Assist, which enables companies to self-produce high-quality legal documents with easy access to real-time legal support. Expertise: Advising companies on employee ownership and the implementation of share schemes Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity-funded transactions and PE-backed buy and build strategies Banking and finance structures, including complex and structured arrangements Restructuring and distressed situations

Christopher Agius

Christopher joined Acuity Law as a Partner in September 2021, having previously led teams at Capital Law, Harrison Clarke Rickerbys and Hugh James. He has significant experience as a real estate finance lawyer and has acted on an extensive range of banking transactions, including refinance transactions and a full range of funding types, including development, investment, SIPP, healthcare, charity, social housing and mezzanine. Christopher has been extensively involved in representing market-leading banks throughout his career, having acted for niche funders in high-volume lending, in addition to all the major high-street lenders on a bespoke basis. He is a specialist in development finance, investment finance, third sector/charity finance, acquisition finance, refinance, and social housing finance. Chris’s practice has been built on the principles of identifying problems, suggesting commercial solutions and backing them with commercial advice. He places excellent service and relationship management at the heart of everything he does and has developed a strong reputation advising banks, funders, and borrowers in all manner of funder transactions. Chris’s clients include Julian Hodge Bank and the Development Bank of Wales. He is ranked as a Notable Practitioner by Chambers and Partners. Expertise: Acting for funders when they are lending to commercial businesses, third sector organisations and the care sector Acting for all of the Clearing Banks, and many challenger banks, including Santander, DBW, Shawbrook Bank, Julian Hodge Bank and others Particular skill in lending to the third sector, maintaining relationships with funders such as Triodos Bank and WCVA Acting for borrowers faced with funder due diligence Acting in the insolvency sector, with strong relationships with LPA receivers and the wider insolvency community

Claire Knowles

Claire is a senior partner and shareholder at Acuity Law, and a member of our Senior Leadership Team. She joined Acuity to lead the Employment team and has since been the driving force of its growth. She provides commercially focused direction using the wealth of knowledge and experience she has built up over more than 15 years at top-tier national and international law firms. Claire’s advice is both responsive and strategic. She focuses on achieving the best commercial outcome, which has enabled her to become a true business partner for several of Acuity’s key clients. She exploits her deep understanding of each client’s business to not only handle issues as they arise but pre-empt and mitigate risk by ensuring all internal people strategies are fully effective and optimised. She works with board members and senior management teams to shape and develop their people initiatives and implement cultural change programmes. She is a member of Acuity’s ESG group, providing support on both social and governance initiatives, as well as board efficiency audits. Claire has also been instrumental in creating new Acuity products, such as our IR35 tool, redundancy costs calculator and training programmes – all designed to support and augment our clients’ operations. Her proven track record, combined with her personable and honest style, has allowed her to build an effective and long-term rapport with her clients. She is adept at both strengthening existing relationships and developing our client base, meaning a significant portion of her work is won through client referrals – testament to the high standard of work that she and her team deliver. Claire’s reputation and expertise were recognised when she was awarded “Best Professional in Business” at the Welsh Women’s Awards 2022, an event showcasing female professionals and entrepreneurs across the region. She has also been acknowledged as a Leading Individual by both Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500. Claire’s standing in the market continues to grow and she is regularly asked to speak at large-scale events. Assisting organisations across a wide range of disciplines in both the private and public sectors, including SMEs, PLCs, national and international clients, Claire handles both contentious and non-contentious employment issues. Her extensive contentious experience includes restrictive covenants and associated disputes, tribunal litigation and director and shareholder disputes. She also works closely with our Corporate team to provide strategic employment advice on the duties and obligations arising out of company acquisitions and mergers and restructures. Additionally, Claire serves as Acuity Law’s Director of People, setting the strategy and developing our internal HR and Learning and Development function. This has involved developing our vacation scheme, training contract recruitment processes and various wellbeing initiatives. Expertise: All aspects of employment law and people management Contract formulation and disputes The Equality Act 2010 Employment tribunal litigation Restructures and reorganisations Restrictive covenants Strategic workforce planning TUPE transfers Employee benefit schemes and share option schemes Cultural change initiatives Board efficiency audits Board-level support to set people strategies

Cordelia Payne

Cordelia leads the Intellectual Property team at Acuity Law. She qualified into the IP department at Harbottle & Lewis LLP, where she was employed until March 2012. During that time, she worked as in-house counsel for Virgin Atlantic Airways, Argus Media and on the brand protection team for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG). Cordelia is particularly conscious of her clients’ commercial needs, which she puts down to these early secondment experiences. In October 2015, she joined Maple & Black Law as its first and only IP lawyer, singlehandedly building the IP practice until the firm merged with Acuity Law. Cordelia has extensive expertise advising on both contentious and non-contentious IP matters. She specialises in the protection, exploitation, and enforcement of all intellectual property rights, with a particular focus on copyright, trade marks, design rights and confidential information. She regularly appears in actions at the UK and EU intellectual property registries and ICANN under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy. She also provides technical and strategic pre-action advice to clients on civil actions for infringement of IP rights and passing off. Her non-contentious work involves brand protection advice, including filing and enforcing UK, EU and worldwide trade mark and design right registrations and working closely with overseas IP lawyers. Increasingly, clients are assigning representation of their entire registered IP portfolios into Cordelia’s management. Cordelia also advises on and drafts agreements involving the exploitation of intellectual property rights, in addition to IP matters forming part of wider corporate deals. She has a hands-on approach and advises individual and business clients from a range of sectors. These include the media, entertainment, and creative industries, with a focus on fashion, art and publishing, health and fitness, communications, and technology, both in the UK and cross-border. At a previous firm, Cordelia acted for LucasFilm on the high-profile Star Wars copyright infringement case, from its inception through to success at the Supreme Court (Lucasfilm Ltd & Ors v Ainsworth & Anor [2011] UKSC 39). This gave her valuable contentious experience as well as technical acumen in copyright law. Cordelia’s extensive experience, tenacity and personability, not to mention her ability to achieve the very best for her clients, is recognised in regular, repeat work from clients both big and small. Expertise: UK, EU and international trade mark filings and prosecutions Brand protection strategy Commercial contracts with an IP focus Licences and assignments of intellectual property rights Intellectual property disputes at the UKIPO, EUIPO, IPEC and High Court Domain name registration and disputes

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

Daniel Moores

Daniel is an associate in our Corporate Healthcare team. He joined the Liverpool office of Goodman Grant (acquired by Acuity Law in 2022) in 2017, as part of our dental team. Daniel completed his Law degree and LPC at Northumbria University. Expertise: Mergers and Acquisitions of dental practices and within the wider healthcare sector Dental practice business structures (including partnerships, shareholders agreements, expense sharing arrangements and incorporations) 24 hour retirement for NHS pension drawdowns

Darren Firth

An experienced and broad-based commercial property specialist, Darren has honed his expertise over two decades, first reaching equity partnership in the early 2000s. Today, Darren handles all types of commercial property matters, including acquisitions and disposals, commercial leases, and landlord and tenant work. His transactions are diverse, encompassing industrial estates, office buildings, shopping centres, and high street premises. His clients span individuals, partnerships, companies, pension operators, banks, and lending institutions. Darren has a wide-ranging commercial background, having worked variously as a business and regulatory compliance consultant, and as a legal adviser to asset managers. He also established a fintech business, and co-founded a joint venture with a software engineer aimed at leveraging AI large language models to enhance lawyers’ productivity and mitigate risk. Although the enterprise was unable to secure VC funding, the journey was exhilarating. Darren’s professional ethos revolves around adopting a pragmatic and business-minded approach to transactions. He maintains a judicious balance by selectively managing his workload to ensure an unwavering dedication to delivering a top-tier service quality for his clients. In his spare time, Darren practises Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and has three young children to keep him busy. Expertise: Commercial property Acquisitions and disposals Commercial landlord and tenant Industrial estates Office buildings Shopping centres High-street premises

Declan Goodwin

Declan is Lead Partner for our Commercial & Technology team. He has significant experience in advising clients in the technology sector and works with prominent clients in a range of industries on strategic IT-based projects. He is a specialist in advising fast growth early-stage tech companies as well as well-known global tech organisations, and supports non-technology clients undertaking software development projects, such as Bright Network and The Trade Centre UK, guiding them through the process of capturing IP and assignment of licensing arrangements. Declan has substantial expertise in transactional/commercial IP matters, and he has advised market leaders such as Wealthify, Portman Dental Care, and Guru Systems on strategic technology projects and transactions with the aim of capturing, commercialising and protecting IP. He regularly advises on copyright-based issues involving software, technology, e-commerce and the internet, often involving complex SaaS platforms. Declan also assists clients with exploiting their patent portfolios, as well as working with brands and sports organisations on sponsorship arrangements. Prior to his arrival at Acuity, Declan headed the commercial and regulatory team at Vistra Corporate Law, assisting global (often tech) clients with expanding into the UK and Europe. He was a senior associate at a global law firm, where he handled big-ticket IT- and IP-based projects for household name clients in the tech sector and beyond. Expertise: Commercial contracts, including sale and purchase agreements, agency, distribution and franchising Software and technology contracts Commercialisation of intellectual property Data protection Outsourcing arrangements

Diego Garrigues

Diego’s experience extends for over 20 years in Aviation, handling aircraft financing, purchase and sale transactions for airlines, lenders, high-net-worth individuals and operators. He also project manages aircraft and fleet acquisitions from contract negotiation to delivery. Diego qualified as a Spanish abogado in 2000 and as an English solicitor in 2009. He trained and spent five years at Iberia Airlines in Madrid as legal counsel, where he gained considerable experience with the airline in multijurisdictional work. Diego moved to London in December 2007, entering into private practice. Since then, he has advised clients on ownership and operating structures, negotiating and drafting loan, lease and purchase agreements, security documentation, and all ancillary documentation, including registration applications, legal opinions, and conditions precedent for delivery, insurance, and escrow arrangements. Diego also has extensive experience in regulatory, commercial dispute resolution, corporate law, and commercial agreements, including aircraft operating and maintenance contracts. Expertise: Aircraft acquisition and sale – project management from letter of intent to delivery Aircraft finance – operating and finance leases and secured debt finance ACMI, dry leasing and chartering Ownership and operating structures, impact on tax (including VAT and import taxes) Regulatory compliance; commercial air transport, Part-NCC and Operational Control Aircraft Registration; International Registry & Cape Town Convention advice Power by the Hour, maintenance agreements and service programmes Commercial dispute resolution Corporate compliance; General Terms and Conditions and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Duncan Freeman Freeman

Duncan trained and qualified into the real estate group at DLA Piper, where he specialised in all areas of property litigation. Duncan acts for owners, occupiers, developers, and funders of corporate real estate. His practice covers most aspects of contentious real estate, including rent reviews, development disputes, landlord and tenant disputes (including rent and service charge recovery, forfeiture and possession claims, and contested lease renewals), title, rights of way and rights of light disputes, mass protest evictions and property-related professional negligence claims and insolvency.

Edward Finley

Edward leads our London Real Estate team and is a senior partner and shareholder. He is also a member of our Senior Leadership Team. After leaving DLA Piper, Edward established real estate and real estate finance boutique law firm Maple & Black in 2011. The firm grew to encompass corporate and commercial law before a successful merger with Acuity Law in 2017. A specialist in property finance, Edward has an impressive record of acting for several large and boutique financial institutions, as well as developers and investors across all forms of investment and development transactions. He has a longstanding and varied client portfolio spanning property investors, developers, asset management firms, lending institutions and restructuring practitioners. As a senior partner and shareholder at Acuity, Edward has focused on further developing the firm’s banking and finance client base with key specialist and alternative lenders. Notable clients include Zorin Finance, Ingenious Real Estate Finance and Global Growth Capital. Expertise: Acquisitions, disposals and developments Joint ventures and private equity funded transactions Real estate finance Real estate restructuring and distressed situations

Emma Hutchings

Emma is an associate in our Real Estate team. She is a broad-based real estate expert, experienced in real estate finance, acquisitions and disposals, development, landlord and tenant issues and corporate support transactions. Having qualified at Hugh James, Emma joined Acuity’s Real Estate team as a Solicitor in December 2018, and became an associate in July 2021. Expertise: Advising institutional lenders in real estate finance transactions Drafting documents, such as contracts for sale, transfers and leases Drafting reports on title for both leasehold and freehold acquisitions and reporting to clients

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

Hannah Jones

Hannah is an associate in our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team. She deals with a wide range of commercial contract and company disputes, as well as contentious insolvency matters. Hannah was a named contributor for her contribution to the World Bank Doing Business Report from 2014 to 2018. Expertise: General commercial disputes Corporate and personal insolvency Shareholders disputes (s994 Petitions) Judicial review Debt recovery and enforcement

Harriet Butterfield

Harriet is a Consultant Barrister in our Real Estate team. She has practised as a Barrister for over 20 years, beginning her career at the criminal Bar. She then moved in-house, representing a variety of clients in construction and engineering, energy and utilities on the full breadth of transactional and contentious matters. Harriet’s construction clients include employers and contractor organisations in the residential, commercial and infrastructure sectors, and she has acted for clients in several of Acuity’s high-profile construction matters. She acts for funders on the construction aspects of transactions and prepares construction documentation for developers. Harriet also has specialist knowledge of all forums of ADR, including mediation, adjudication, and arbitration. Expertise: All aspects of contentious and non-contentious construction work Advising funders on the construction aspects of transactions Preparing construction documentation for developers ADR, including mediation, adjudication, and arbitration

Henry Duncan

Henry is a senior associate in our Real Estate Finance team. He focuses on banking and real estate finance matters, advising both banks and specialist lenders on property finance and bespoke development deals. He also undertakes some borrower-side work. Prior to his arrival at Acuity, Henry spent time as an in-house legal advisor to a property development company. He is looking forward to leveraging the commercial awareness he gained in an entrepreneurial and agile in-house environment at Acuity. Henry studied History and Philosophy at York University prior to his legal training, and enjoys golf, cooking, road cycling and live music when he is not facilitating real estate transactions. Expertise: Banking & finance Borrow & lender work Property finance Real estate development transactions

Hugh Hitchcock

Hugh is a senior partner and shareholder, and a member of our Senior Leadership Team. He heads up the Acuity Litigation and Dispute Resolution department, comprising Commercial Litigation, Property Litigation and Construction Litigation. Before joining Acuity, Hugh gained a wealth of experience as a partner/director at a boutique law firm, and in the media litigation department at Frere Cholmeley Bischoff, where he acted for an array of notable clients including Elton John, Sting, and The Beatles’ record company. Hugh works both nationally and internationally with clients on a wide range of commercial litigation cases. He has vast experience in high-value contractual claims against large national firms, recovery claims and minority shareholder claims. He has also practised in the niche area of defamation and has had notable successes against several national newspapers. Hugh has consistently been noted in The Legal 500 as a tenacious litigator with successful reported results against national and international firms. Expertise: Commercial contract disputes Director and shareholder disputes Professional negligence Contentious insolvency and antecedent transaction claims Defamation, privacy and reputation management All types of injunction proceedings Intellectual property disputes

Huw Roffe

Huw is a partner in our Litigation & Dispute Resolution team and an experienced commercial disputes solicitor. He assists businesses in a range of commercial dispute and has a strong track record of providing advice within a range of business sectors, with experience in construction-related disputes. Huw has appeared in both High Court Litigation and Arbitrations, as well as all forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution. Expertise: Commercial contract disputes Director/Shareholder disputes Construction disputes Professional negligence claims Defamation and reputation management

Ifath Khan

Ifath has substantial experience as a commercial solicitor. Her area of expertise is in property, including acquisitions and disposal of commercial and residential property, landlord and tenant matters, real estate finance and commercial lending. She also has experience in purchases and sales of businesses. Ifath deals with a full range of dental-related acquisitions, with a specialism in property.

Jake Filson

Jake is a Consultant Partner in our Employment team. He is an experienced employment specialist who handles a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters on behalf of businesses and individuals. Jake represents both employees and employers in the full gamut of employment litigation cases, including complex discrimination and whistleblowing. He is also adept at advising on and negotiating senior executive exits. Jake’s non-contentious employment work includes the employment aspects of corporate transactions as well as day-to-day HR issues. He has substantial experience reviewing and drafting employment contracts, service agreements, restrictive covenants, employment policies, bonus and commission schemes, employment business and agency contracts, consultancy agreements and settlement agreements. Expertise: Acting for employees and employers in employment litigation claims Complex discrimination matters Whistleblowing matters Senior executive exits Employment aspects of corporate transactions HR issues Employment contracts Service agreements Restrictive covenants Employment policies Bonus and commission schemes Employment business and agency contracts Consultancy agreements Settlement agreements

James Ryan

Jim is an experienced specialist town and country planning lawyer whose practice also includes contentious matters, compulsory purchase, highway law, rights of way and the law of commons, and town and village greens. Jim also provides planning advice to lenders of development finance as part of the lenders’ necessary due diligence processes. His early career was spent as an engineering technician in local government and then as an infrastructure designer in the housebuilding industry, before reading for a law degree at UWE Bristol and subsequently training with Burges Salmon in Bristol. In June 2010, Jim was appointed to an in-house role as Head of Legal Services to M J Gleeson Group plc, a role he held until the end of 2014. Expertise: Town and Country Planning (with a bias towards contentious matters) Compulsory Purchase The law of Highways and Rights of Way The law of Commons and Town and Village Greens

James Kilgour

James is a partner and highly skilled banking and finance specialist with broad experience of general asset and structured finance, and particular expertise in real estate finance across the UK and Europe. Having trained and worked at a large City firm, James has acted on a wide range of UK and large pan-European deals for borrowers and lenders. He has gained valuable insight from secondment opportunities at Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and with Barclays’ structured property finance team, equipping him with a deep understanding of lender processes and requirements. James has a proven track record advising on a wide variety of development and investment transactions across all asset classes, including student accommodation, mixed-use developments, logistics, retail, care homes and hotels. He regularly advises borrowers, banks, institutional investors, debt funds and other alternative lenders on senior and mezzanine positions across a full range of sectors. Expertise: Structured property finance Development finance Cross-border property finance Senior and mezzanine finance

James Hardy

James is a corporate and commercial lawyer with 20 years’ experience in public and private mergers, acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, private equity and corporate finance. James specialises in corporate finance work, acting for both companies and brokers, and advising on public company takeovers and mergers, private acquisitions and disposals, AIM and full listings, corporate restructuring, and general corporate matters. James acts for clients across a large variety of sectors, including media and entertainment, renewable energy, property investment funds, venture capital trusts, retail, industrial and financial services. After spending ten years at Freshfields, James moved into partnership roles at mid-City and West End firms before joining Newlawslegal, which merged with Acuity Law in 2018. He also worked for Simpson Thacher in New York. Expertise: Public and private mergers, acquisitions and disposals (domestic [UK and US] and cross-border) AIM listings and secondary fundraisings Joint ventures and shareholder arrangements Private equity and venture capital Corporate reorganisations, demergers and share buybacks General corporate, corporate finance, commercial, corporate governance

James Harris

James is a Consultant Partner in Acuity’s Real Estate team. He specialises in all aspects of non-contentious commercial property matters. James acts for a wide variety of clients including landlords, tenants, HNW investors (both UK and offshore), developers, schools, national charities and finance providers on a wide range of property transactions. His experience includes freehold and leasehold acquisitions and disposals, leases, property management, development option and promotion agreements and secured lending for clients within the retail, investment, charity, sport and development sectors. He also provides support on property aspects of corporate mergers and acquisitions. James trained at Ashfords in Bristol and was a partner at Russell-Cooke in London. Expertise: Acquisitions and disposals Property development projects Portfolio management Charity property work Secured lending Corporate support

Janice Powell

Janice is a partner in our Litigation & Dispute Resolution team and a member of ACTAPS, the Association of Contentious Trust and Probate Specialists. She is also a member of the Property Litigation Association. She is a highly experienced litigation specialist, having headed commercial litigation and dispute resolution teams at prominent firms in Cardiff and London. Janice is an expert in contentious probate issues, including Inheritance Act claims, trust disputes, property disputes, professional negligence, contractual, and company disputes. She has extensive experience of High Court and County Court proceedings, together with mediation, arbitration, adjudication and other alternative dispute resolution procedures. She represents business and individual clients across a full range of sectors. Prior to her return to Wales, Janice practised in London for over two decades. Outside of the law, Janice enjoys cultural and heritage visits, hiking, long walks on the beach and running. She is also an afficionado of the karaoke machine, where her specialty is the Abba and 1970s disco back catalogue. Expertise: Commercial litigation and dispute resolution Contentious probate issues Inheritance Act claims Trust disputes Removal of Executors and Trustees Proprietary Estoppel Claims against attorneys involving financial abuse Property disputes Professional negligence Contractual disputes Company disputes

Jared Ursell

Jared is a senior associate and has experience in all forms of general commercial and corporate disputes. In particular, he has worked on a number of high-value professional negligence, breach of contract, and director and shareholder disputes. He also regularly acts for insolvency practitioners, including in claims against former directors. Jared has experience in both the High Court and Court of Appeal. Expertise: Director and shareholder disputes Professional negligence claims Breach of contract disputes Insolvency disputes Banking disputes

Jennifer Butcher

Jennifer leads Acuity’s Property Litigation team. Having joined Acuity from a major, tier 1-ranked regional firm in 2020, she has grown the property litigation team and was promoted to Senior Partner in 2022. She handles a considerable caseload, including complex and high-value claims and is recognised by both The Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners for her prowess in property litigation. Jennifer specialises in a wide range of complex commercial and residential property litigation, including regularly advising landlords and tenants (individual, corporate and public bodies) in relation to retail, office, industrial, residential and mixed-use premises. She also represents property developers in connection with complex disputes surrounding acquisition, development and sale of freehold land, and has experience of advising banking clients regarding management of property portfolios and property disputes arising through the administration of estates. Jennifer regularly acts for management company clients in relation to high-value latent defect claims (including a large number of non-complaint fire-safety disputes post-Grenfell) against developers and insurers. She also advises social housing clients in relation to various housing management issues, as well as their commercial property matters. Expertise: Landlord and tenant – lease renewals, dilapidations, forfeitures, easements, rent reviews Option agreements Boundary disputes Adverse possession Possession proceedings

Jenny Wilde

Jenny is a Partner in our Healthcare and Regulatory teams. Having qualified and practiced for over a decade at a market-leading boutique firm, Jenny is an expert in health and social care regulatory law. Her caseload includes any matters concerning the regulation of health and social care services. She represents care providers in responses, challenges and appeals to inspection reports and regulatory enforcement actions. Jenny is highly experienced in advising care providers in relation to safeguarding allegations, investigations and serious care reviews, as well as inquests, prosecutions, and commissioning fee disputes. She also supports care professionals in connection with professional disciplinary matters. In addition, Jenny advises vendors and purchasers of care services regarding regulatory due diligence. Her clients include care homes, domiciliary care services NHS hospitals, GP practices, adult social care services, children’s homes, private hospitals, dental practices and hair transplant clinics, alongside the professionals providing care within these settings. Jenny takes a team-based approach to advising her clients. She avoids jargon and legalese, instead providing personalised, practical and informed advice based on her many years of experience. She trains and educates professionals on regulatory and compliance matters, including preparing for CQC inspections. Outside of the professional realm, Jenny is passionate about team sports, especially women’s football. She is Chair of East London Ladies Football Club, a grassroots club that also coaches girls from age two upwards. Expertise: Challenges to inspection and regulatory outcomes Safeguarding matters First-Tier Tribunal (Care Standards) representation CQC prosecutions Regulatory due diligence during the sale or purchase of care services Professional disciplinary matters

Jim Ryan

John Grant

John is a partner in our Corporate Healthcare team. He has built an enviable reputation over 30 years in the healthcare field, twice building up the country’s largest team of specialist dental lawyers. This included co-founding a specialist dental team at Goodman Grant, a Leeds- and Liverpool-based firm acquired by Acuity Law in 2022. Having created a business focus entirely on the full range of legal services needed by dentists today, John is an authority on every aspect of acquiring, running and selling dental practices. His longstanding role in the industry means he has seen it all and can advise from experience as well as legal expertise. He applies his comprehensive knowhow to all issues faced by dental practices and their leaders, across the length and breadth of the sector. John is on the BDA panel of recommended solicitors and enjoyed two tenures as Chairman of the Association of Specialist Providers to Dentists (ASPD). Expertise: Dental sales and purchases Advising on associate agreements

John Haggis

John is a highly experienced commercial lawyer and acts as General Counsel and trusted advisor to an enviable portfolio of founders and business leaders in the technology, creative and marketing industries. Having trained and qualified at a well-respected London firm, John has honed his expertise in advising clients ranging from large global companies to start-ups and business-owners. As a trusted advisor to his clients, John guides them through the entire life cycle from start-up to growth and exit. John is a UK legal advisor to SoDA, the global society of leading business in the digital and creative industries. Expertise: Commercial advice Mergers & Acquisitions Intellectual Property

Jon Lawley

Jon heads up the largest dedicated dental M&A team of any law firm in the UK. He is a highly experienced corporate healthcare lawyer with a strong presence in the dental sector, where he advises practice-owners and groups on their acquisition strategies. He is a member of the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers, the pre-eminent centre of excellence for accounting, tax and legal matters for dentists. He is recognised by The Legal 500 as a Next Generation Partner. Jon’s largest client is Portman Dental Care, the largest active acquirer of dental practices in the UK. As the lead adviser to Portman, he has advised on the successful acquisition of over 175 dental practices in England, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man in the last seven years and has grown Portman to become Acuity’s largest client. Jon also advises Portman on commercial contracts, equity fundraises and regulatory issues. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions Dental business structures (including partnerships, expense sharing arrangements and incorporations) Commercial contracts Banking and finance structures

Jon Hill

Jon is a very experienced disputes, commercial and commercial finance lawyer who acts for a diverse range of clients nationally and internationally. His notable work includes advising a buyer in relation to a joint development land purchase for a new multimillion-pound manufacturing facility, advising a lender in a debt and equity investment into an international skincare brand, and representing a well-known clothing brand in search and seizure proceedings relating to counterfeit goods. Expertise: Dispute resolution and commercial litigation Commercial finance including debt and equity transactions Restructuring Debt recovery and enforcement Professional negligence

Jonny Beck

Jonny is a real estate lawyer with a focus on transactional work and property finance, acting for property entrepreneurs, portfolio owners and funds. With 20 years of experience, Jonny has established himself as the go-to lawyer in Bristol for HMO landlords and property investors. Working in a non-traditional challenger law firm gives Jonny the flexibility to work at times and in ways that suit the client and transaction. Expertise: Property investment Property finance Pensions SIPP/SSAS Commercial landlord and tenant High-net-worth residential

Jordan Martin

Jordan is an associate in our Real Estate team. A true property generalist, he is experienced across a full range of real estate transactions, including sale and purchases, refinancings, secured lending, development, commercial leases and landlord and tenant matters. Most recently, he has been active in acquiring mast sites for telecom providers, and he is also regularly involved in transactions for clients in the hospitality sector. He prides himself on using his commercial nous to get deals done in the most efficient way and ensure that clients are protected. Expertise: Sales and purchases Refinancing Secured lending Development transactions Commercial leases Landlord and tenant matters

Joy Barnett

Joy is a member of the Litigation & Dispute Resolution team. Joy has over 20 years’ experience in managing, avoiding and litigating disputes with a commercial, corporate or property element to them. She also provides commercial risk management advice and has a wealth of commercial experience. Joy qualified with Reynolds Porter Chamberlain before moving to Rosenblatt and Brecher. Expertise: Real estate and commercial litigation Risk management and non-contentious advisory on commercial relationships, projects and contracts and preservation Employment and management disputes Insolvency and distressed situations, commercial risk and litigation

Juliette Franklin

Juliette joined Acuity Law as a Legal Director in February 2022, having spent 20 years heading up a successful Employment team with Slater & Gordon (previously Russell Jones and Walker). Juliette has practiced in employment and discrimination law for over two decades. She has notable expertise in dealing with complex discrimination cases under all strands of anti-discrimination legislation, with a particular interest in disability, sex and maternity discrimination matters and whistleblowing. Juliette has a keen interest in cases arising out of so-called hidden disabilities as well as associative and perceived discrimination. She represented the Claimant in what was understood to the first perceived disability discrimination claim considered by the Tribunals, among several high-profile and ground-breaking cases she has handled. Juliette is very experienced in collective labour law issues and, in particular, in advising in redundancy situations. She has developed expertise in cases where employment law overlaps with civil claims, including claims for professional negligence arising from alleged sub-standard employment advice. Juliette has also developed a sound understanding of claims where there is an overlap between employment law and other areas relevant to the employment relationship – for example, advising on data protection issues within the employment relationship. Juliette is a regular contributor to both the local and national press and delivers training to clients and fellow practitioners. She is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Wales and is often sought out to provide a legal insight on topical matters. Juliette has been ranked by Chambers and Partners and The Legal 500 for over 14 years. Juliette is also a member of the Employment Lawyers Association and is a Working group participant for EHRC Wales. Expertise: All aspects of employment law and people management Collective labour law – advising on bulk redundancy exercises The Equality Act 2010 – with a particular focus on disability-related issues Employment Tribunal litigation Team moves – including advising on restrictive covenants and injunctive relief Exit strategy and reputation management

Karen Halsey

Karen is an experienced lawyer specialising in all aspects of real estate. Before joining Acuity, she was a legal director at DLA Piper. She has acted for some of the UK’s biggest institutional landlords and tenants, undertaking all types of investment and management work. She has a particular specialism in distressed real estate. Expertise: Real estate Commercial property investment and asset management Distressed real estate Residential property development Landlord and tenant

Katherine David

Katherine is a partner in our Commercial Litigation team and an experienced commercial litigator specialising in high-value and complex dispute resolution matters. She acts for companies and high-net-worth individuals across a range of specialities, including contractual disputes, director and shareholder disputes, professional negligence, trust litigation and fraud. Katherine works across a wide range of industries, in both cross-jurisdictional litigation and high court litigation. She has expertise in dealing with offshore disputes such as trust litigation, having previously worked offshore. Her previous career highlights include a 100% win at Anthony Collins, before joining the “offshore magic circle’” firm Mourant Ozannes in 2018, where she dealt with a number of high-value, complex cases. Katherine has worked for a leading City of London firm, contributing to a number of multimillion-pound disputes involving fraud, worldwide freezing orders and asset-tracing for multinational commercial clients. She has been described by clients as “exceptional” and is tenacious and strategic in her approach to litigation. Expertise: Commercial contract disputes Financial disputes Director and shareholder disputes Professional negligence Defamation, privacy and reputation management All types of injunction proceedings Misrepresentation Trust litigation Inheritance tax dispute Breach of privacy rights Discrimination Unfair prejudice Undue influence Fraud disputes Worldwide freezing orders Asset tracing Cross-border litigation

Liz Gibbons

Liz is an experienced real estate and property lawyer. She acts for a range of clients, including social housing providers, commercial investors, property developers and high-net-worth-individuals dealing with acquisitions, disposals and refinancing of properties. Liz has a particular specialism in the social housing sector and deals with both commercial and residential property matters. In a prior role, she led the residential property department of a Bristol-based firm. Liz’s primary focus is on strong relationships, excellent client service and a commercial approach. She is ranked by Chambers and Partners as an Associate to Watch and is a former Board Member of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service Cymru (TPAS Cymru). Expertise: Freehold and leasehold acquisitions and disposals Option agreements Infrastructure agreements Landlord and tenant Joint ventures Land development and package deals Portfolio management

Lizzie Elliott

Lizzie is a senior associate in our Real Estate team. She is an experienced commercial real estate lawyer with a broad range of experience across all real estate sectors, acting for developers, investors, funders and occupiers. She has a particular emphasis on work in the office sector. Expertise: Advising on acquisitions and disposals Advising on landlord and tenant matters Advising on commercial and residential developments Advising on property aspects of real estate finance transactions Advising on property aspects of corporate transactions

Madeleine Chapman James

Madeleine is a senior associate in our Corporate team. She focuses on acquisitions and disposals, shareholder agreements, investments and company formations, and she is experienced in drafting sale and purchase agreements, disclosure letters and board minutes and resolutions. Madeleine has particular expertise in the healthcare sector, having worked extensively with Portman Dental Care, the largest active acquirer of dental practices in the UK, on the sale and purchase of dental practices. She deals regularly with partnerships and expense-sharing arrangements, acting for both buyers and sellers. Madeleine is also adept at the property-related aspects of wider corporate transactions, including commercial lettings, acquisitions and disposals. Expertise: Acquisitions and disposals Company formations Banking and finance Shareholders’ agreements and investment agreements Dental business structures

Martin Cox

Martin is a Senior Associate in the team. Martin trained, qualified, and practised for ten years in the City of London, at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Stewarts. He advises on contentious, high-value and often cross-border commercial disputes for a broad range of clients from the financial services, telecommunications and energy sectors. He has advised both multinational companies and high-net-worth individuals. Martin possesses particular expertise in advising on negligence and misrepresentation claims (including for many high-profile individuals from the sports and media sectors), breach of contract, regulatory compliance and corporate governance issues. Expertise: Professional negligence Contract Judicial review Freedom of information He has also worked on significant public law challenges, including judicial review claims for both private and public sector clients.

Mike Allenby-Smith

Mike is an experienced commercial litigator specialising in shareholder disputes, as well as having expertise in construction, property, general contractual, and fraud disputes. He is also experienced in breaches of director’s duties, breaches of warranties, and professional negligence. Expertise: Director and shareholder disputes Commercial contract disputes Fraud Professional negligence Property disputes All types of injunction proceedings

Mike Taplin

Mike Taplin joined Acuity in July 2022 as a Consultant and brings with him a wealth of property development law experience with both commercial and residential expertise. Based in the Midlands, he is one of the leading property solicitors in the region.

Natalie Jones

Natalie was promoted to Legal Director in 2022 in recognition of her extensive experience as a corporate and commercial lawyer. She has very strong technical and project management skills, which are deeply valued by the clients with whom she works on complex transactions and commercial arrangements. On the corporate side, Natalie frequently advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, disposals, fundraisings, joint ventures, developments and commercial frameworks, often with a cross-border aspect. She has a particular focus on disposals, fundraising and project planning and has worked on a number of high-profile and substantial deals, including the £160m battery storage project to be developed at Uskmouth Power Station and the sale of IX Group subsidiaries to Kester Capital. Natalie also has extensive experience in the information technology sector, and on the commercial front, she is valued for her extensive expertise in advising on a range of IT contracts such as, SaaS agreements, software reseller agreements, IT support, servicing and outsourcing arrangements, software development agreements and software licence agreements. She gained significant experience in the renewable energy sector following a 13-month secondment with a renewables developer. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity funded transactions and equity arrangements Corporate restructuring and reorganisations Commercial contracts, including, assignment and licensing of intellectual property rights, SaaS arrangements, development agreements, distribution agreements outsourcing arrangements and manufacturing agreements between the private and public sectors

Neil Morgan

Neil is a highly experienced property litigation and social housing lawyer. Having established and managed the property litigation team at a major tier 1-ranked regional firm for over 20 years, Neil has handled numerous high-profile and high-value property litigation cases during his career. Neil is also widely recognised as one of the leading social housing lawyers in Wales, with over 30 years of experience in the field. He has founded specialist, multidisciplinary teams aimed at the public and social housing sectors, pioneering the delivery of innovative and effective solutions for this market. He led the first in-house anti-social behaviour team in a UK law firm, for example. Neil is consistently recognised by the leading legal directories for his expertise. He is a skilled advocate, a trained mediator and was appointed as a Deputy District Judge in May 2020. He is also a board member of a housing association and Chair of its Development and Asset Management Committee. Neil acts for private and public sector clients, including housing associations, developers, commercial and residential landlords and pension funds. His clients span the retail, food and drink and media sectors, as well as high-net-worth individuals and angel investors. Neil is a fluent Welsh speaker. Expertise: Property disputes Commercial litigation Housing law Social housing Alternative dispute resolution

Nigel Davis

Nigel is a consultant in our Corporate team. He has extensive experience in private and public company M&A and corporate finance transactions, with an emphasis on cross-border, financial services and technology-related matters. After training with Simmons & Simmons, Nigel moved to the firm’s Hong Kong office in the early 2000s, working in the Asian market until 2017. He teaches company law, corporate governance and finance at the University of Bristol and the University of Hong Kong. Expertise: Private and public company M&A Corporate finance transactions (with an emphasis on cross-border, financial services and technology-related transactions) Company law Corporate governance and finance

Paul Lowe

Paul is a partner and shareholder at Acuity Law, and a member of our Senior Leadership Team. Paul represents a range of high-profile corporate clients throughout the UK and internationally. His extensive track record as a lead adviser on high-value corporate and commercial transactions has led to industry recognition from The Legal 500, which lists him in the Hall of Fame, and from Chambers and Partners, where he is ranked Band 3. Prior to joining Acuity, he was a corporate partner at Eversheds, leading its Cardiff corporate team for 15 years. As well as being qualified in England and Wales he is admitted to practice in Hong Kong, and spent four years working for Reed Smith, Hong Kong. Paul’s impressive client list includes Scansource Inc, Alamo Group Europe, Peter’s Food Services, Harris Pye and Notemachine. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity and development finance Commercial projects and contracts Banking and finance structures, including complex and structured arrangements Restructuring and distressed situations

Philip Graham

Philip is the leading partner in Acuity’s Construction litigation team. Philip has a wealth of experience in all forms of construction litigation and dispute resolution, with a particular specialism in delay-related claims and final account disputes. Prior to joining Acuity in April 2022, he headed up an established construction practice for 10 years, regularly acting in complex construction matters arising from multimillion-pound disputes. Philip has extensive experience working across JCT, NEC and FIDIC forms of contract, in addition to bespoke conditions while acting for developers, public bodies, main contractors, subcontractors, design professionals, bondsmen and high-net-worth individuals. He has acted on matters across the UK, as well as in Europe and Africa. During his career, Phillip has presented seminars to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors upon NEC and JCT contract terms. He has been noted in The Legal 500 for nearly 10 years as a Leading Individual in his field. Expertise: Dispute resolution Construction and engineering disputes Adjudication and arbitration Professional negligence disputes Breach of contract disputes

Phillip Pugh

Phil leads our London Corporate team. He has extensive experience of acting on a full range of corporate and commercial matters and frequently handles complex transactions, including business and share acquisitions, disposals and investments. Phil has acted for clients across a variety of sectors and has particular specialisms in technology/IP and healthcare (including dental). He has worked with several university spin-out companies. Phil has recently been active on behalf of clients in the PR/creative industries, and is the primary contact for leading logistics developer Verdion, as well as lead lawyer for award-winning medical device company Alesi Surgical Limited. Phil is currently recognised as a “Next Generation Partner” which is a testament to his impressive work on several high-profile deals, including the sale of Swansea City Football Club to an American consortium, the sale of digital signage and IPTV provider Tripleplay Services to US-based Uniguest, and the sale of Hereford Contract Canning to Rutland Partners. Phil is also a certified expert in data protection, having completed the EU General Data Protection Regulation Practitioner qualification awarded by the International Board for IT Governance Qualifications. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Commercial contracts – assignment and licensing of brand rights and intellectual property rights, SaaS arrangements, software licensing, distribution agreements and outsourcing arrangements Investments and equity arrangements Private equity-funded transactions and PE-backed buy and build strategies Corporate restructuring

Rachelle Sellek

Rachelle is a partner and shareholder of Acuity Law, and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. She has significant experience in advising clients on all aspects of commercial and corporate arrangements, specialising in high-profile corporate work, with particular expertise in sizeable joint ventures and international transactions. Rachelle is well established and respected, and has built a reputation as a strong, diligent, and trustworthy lawyer over more than 20 years in the corporate, commercial and IT sectors. She has extensive experience in a range of commercial contracts, including systems implementation and integration, SaaS contracts, international data transfer agreements, intellectual property, development agreements and supply contracts. Rachelle has a substantial track record acting for clients in the data and information compliance sectors, such as Trusted Data Solutions and NorthRow. Her work for these clients includes advising on data and privacy issues, licensing, SaaS, reseller and end user agreements, both in the UK and internationally. In addition, Rachelle has acted for Premier Forest Group for many years, advising on several acquisitions as part of its buy and build strategy, including the sale of Premier Forest’s Irish subsidiary to Murdock Builders Merchants and its high-profile acquisition of rival Merlwood Timber. Rachelle has been invited to sit on the boards of a variety of professional bodies, most notably the steering group for Legal Innovation Lab Wales – an organisation seeking to encourage innovation in legaltech and access to justice while helping counter criminal and terrorist use of the internet. Expertise: Corporate mergers, acquisitions and disposals Joint ventures, shareholders agreements Commercial contracts, including sales agency, distribution Commercialisation of IP Corporate restructuring and funding rounds Restructuring and acquiring businesses Outsourcing

Ralph Lovesy

Ralph is a consultant in our Banking & Finance team. He has a wealth of expertise in financial services regulation, including consumer credit, regulated mortgage contracts, payment services, insurance intermediation and fintech products. He has advised a wide range of clients, from established retail banks and credit card lenders to SMEs and start-ups. Ralph was previously the Head of Legal at a private bank and Lead Counsel at a high street retail bank. He also has extensive experience advising senior executives on a range of risk and compliance matters at a separate bank and a major credit card issuer. Expertise: General financial services regulatory compliance (FCA Handbook) Regulated mortgage contracts (FCA MCOB sourcebook) Consumer credit (Consumer Credit Act) Payment services (PSD2) Insurance intermediation and administration activities (ICOBS)

Ray Goodman

Ray is a partner in our Corporate Healthcare team. Having co-founded a specialist dental team at Goodman Grant, a Leeds and Liverpool-based firm acquired by Acuity Law in 2022, Ray has spent his extensive and exemplary career providing legal advice to dentists. In this time, he has accumulated deep insight into their needs, and is strongly committed to supporting the commercial and professional objectives of running a dental practice. His professional knowledge and experience are reflected in the recognition he has received from the industry, as past Chairman of the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers and as a member of the Association of Specialist Providers to Dentists.

Richard Voke

Richard is a partner specialist in Risk and Regulation, with longstanding experience in environmental law defence work, which he has practiced for 20 years. Richard’s clients appreciate his tactical and pragmatic approach, augmented by time spent in industry and his environmental science background. Richard has a Master’s degree in Environmental Toxicology and, prior to qualifying as a lawyer, spent a number of years with the HSE as a specialist in environmental major hazard legislation in the Hazardous Installations Division, where he prosecuted his own cases. He also spent two years as a risk management consultant, most notably leading a World Bank project on environmental catastrophe prevention in West Africa, and developing environmental and health and safety protocols for energy companies in the Sahara. Richard advises and defends organisations in their dealings with the Environment Agency, HSE, Local Authorities and other government regulators. Expertise: Interpretation and advice on regulatory legislation (environment, health and safety, food, fire, security, planning, trading standards, bribery etc) Specific major hazard industry regulatory representation in UK (COMAH and abroad) Regulatory litigation – defending criminal cases brought by HSE/EA/EHOs, etc Directors, senior officer and shareholder risk/liability management from threats such as corporate manslaughter, bribery and environmental law Inquest representation for organisations and individuals Liability on internal and external security issues Contractor control and risk limitation Environmental, health and safety accident/incident investigation leadership Regulatory risk and liability management systems such as ISO 14001, 18001/45001, etc Mediation of commercial disputes

Robert Morgan

Robert is a Partner in Acuity’s Real Estate team. Having trained and worked at both large City and regional firms, he specialises in all aspects of non-contentious commercial property matters. Robert has significant experience with the acquisition and disposal of office, retail, and industrial properties, secured lending, development, and landlord and tenant and is exceptionally competent dealing with both the transactional and due diligence elements of such matters. Robert acts for a variety of clients, including national car dealerships, public bodies, landlords with large industrial estate portfolios, well-known high-street retail tenants across England and Wales, as well as pub and restaurant tenants in Central London. Expertise: Property development projects Acquisitions and disposals Portfolio management Landlord and tenant (acting for both landlords and tenants)

Rupert Thomas

Rupert is a commercial property specialist, handling sales, purchases and finance; commercial landlord and tenant; and residential and commercial development. He has a particular interest in easements and covenants. Prior to joining Acuity, Rupert has enjoyed a distinguished career in property law. He founded a respected Cardiff-based commercial firm, which later merged with a national firm at which Rupert remained as senior partner of the Cardiff office. Married with four grown-up daughters, Rupert is kept busy by six grandchildren and a Labrador. He is a keen sports fan and golfer, is a trustee of Llanrumney Hall Community Trust and is President of Cardiff Golf Club. Expertise: Commercial property Sales, purchases and finance Commercial landlord and tenant Residential and commercial development Easements and covenants Regularly acting for SIPPs and investors in investment property acquisitions Portfolio management, lease renewals and advising on Landlord and Tenant Act 1954

Sean Chapman James

Sean is an associate within our Real Estate team in Cardiff. Sean graduated with a law degree from the University of Reading in 2013 and completed the Legal Practice Course at Cardiff University in 2014. Sean joined Acuity in April 2023 having previously worked at Blake Morgan LLP in both their Cardiff and London offices. Sean acts for an array of clients based in the private and public sector, including private businesses and individuals, real estate investment firms, local authorities, Welsh Government and third sector organisations. Expertise: Commercial property freehold and leasehold acquisitions and disposals Asset/portfolio management Landlord and tenant Option agreements Development acquisitions and site set up Infrastructure agreements

Sian Reynolds

Sian is an experienced and commercially focused Senior Associate in our real Estate team. Sian has 18 years of experience across a wide range of complex and varied commercial property transactions for a broad range of clients. She specialises in acquisitions and disposals, real estate development, landlord and tenant and the marine sector. She is a dedicated sailor, having competed at international level, and is current chair of the Royal Yachting Association Cymru Wales. Expertise: Advising on acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold land Advising on real estate development Advising on Landlord and Tenant matters Advising on property aspects of real estate finance transactions Advising on property aspects of corporate transactions Unregistered land Auction sale and purchases

Simon Morgan

Simon is a specialist commercial property lawyer of more than 30 years’ standing. His practice encompasses a wide spectrum of property-related transactions, including sale and purchase of Freehold and Leasehold properties, sales, purchases and financial restructuring of businesses (with a particular speciality in dental practices), and all aspects of property funding and investment. Simon’s large and varied client base includes investors, owners and occupiers of industrial estates, waste-to-energy reprocessing facilities, office buildings, retail shopping centres and individual retail and wholesale warehouses, hotels, pubs and restaurant properties and dental practices. He acts for individuals, partnerships, pension companies, banks and all types of lending institutions. Outside of the law, Simon has been married for 34 years and has two grown-up children who have fled the nest. He is a keen weightlifter, and also enjoys surfing, dogs, walking, holidays in France and local community projects. Expertise: Commercial property Sale and purchase of Freehold and Leasehold properties Sales, purchases and financial restructuring of businesses Property funding and investment

Soshana Day

Soshana is an Associate in our Litigation and Dispute Resolution team. Her broad-ranging client base spans global corporations to high-net-worth individuals and start-ups, and she assists with contractual disputes, partnership disputes and commercial litigation. She joined Acuity following previous roles at Child & Child and Bolt Burdon. Prior to qualification, Soshana studied Law at Oxford Brookes University and completed her LPC at BPP University.

Stephen Berry

Steve is Chairman and founding partner at Acuity Law, with over 25 years of top-level experience both in the UK and internationally. A highly experienced corporate lawyer and dealmaker with a demonstrable track record of advising on numerous high-value M&A transactions, Stephen is widely recognised as a leader in his field. He is listed as a leading individual in The Legal 500 and has a Band 1 ranking from Chambers and Partners. With extensive experience advising on complex, often highly technical and intricate finance structures and partnerships between the private and public sectors, clients describe him as “very good, pragmatic, commercial and doesn’t mess around.” Steve has board-level experience of working with growth companies from early-stage funding through to exit and has a particular interest in technology-backed ventures. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions including mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity-funded transactions and PE backed buy and build strategies Commercial projects and contracts including long-term contracts between the private and public sectors Banking and finance structures, including complex and structured arrangements Restructuring and distressed situations

Stephen McColgan

Stephen has been a qualified as a solicitor for over 35 years. He has been a partner in a variety of transactional property roles based in Bristol and Somerset with Clarke Willmott, Davies and Partners and Michelmores. Stephen’s passion and expertise are in advising landowners, developers and investors in residential-led and mixed-use schemes. He has worked with several of the top 10 PLC housebuilders, including on significant town extensions with multimillion-pound land assemblies. He has advised design-led SME housebuilding entrepreneurs to realise their projects, and has also acted for landowners, particularly those unfamiliar with the development process, to help them understand transactions with developers and investors, to add value leading to sales of development land. Expertise: Promotion of land, disposal, acquisition, preparation for development through the planning process and arranging the infrastructure and utilities agreements Site set-up preparations for disposal, as both serviced sites or individual plot sales Secured acquisition and development finance from UK and foreign banks and investors Advising SME housebuilders in securing finance from Homes England

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

Tessa Laws

Tessa is a corporate and business lawyer based in our London office. After qualifying at Rosenblatt, where she was a partner, head of the corporate team, and founder of the firm’s Japan Desk and renewable energy practice, Tessa left to set up her own practice, Newlawslegal. In 2018, Newlawslegal merged with Acuity Law, bringing Tessa’s more than twenty years’ of City legal experience, working on flotations, investments and mergers in London, the UK and internationally to the firm. At Acuity, Tessa provides hands-on commercial advice and guidance to a wide range of clients, from individuals to institutions. Her recent work has focused primarily on the marketing, media and renewable energy sectors, where she advises management teams on share sales and acquisitions, investment vehicles on their investments and individuals on their business structures. She particularly enjoys advising management teams in the media arena, be that content creation, TV production, advertising or public relations, on receiving external investment and ultimate exit. She has completed multiple deals within the sub-£20 million agency space and enjoys working for buyer or seller. This year, Tessa has led several successful and high-profile deals including the acquisition of Karian and Box by Ipsos. She has served on several AIM-listed company boards and was previously a member of the Quoted Companies Alliance. Expertise: Corporate deals and transactions – mergers, acquisitions and disposals Private equity funded transactions and PE backed buy and build strategies EIS and VCT structures and investments Management buyouts and buyins Shareholder arrangements Engineering and procurement contracts Operating and maintenance arrangements Bond structures

Tom Saunderson

Tom is a partner in our Corporate team. His expertise covers a broad spectrum of M&A, investment and commercial projects work, with a particular expertise in private equity and early-stage investments in high-growth companies. In addition to Tom’s continued support to the acquisition strategy of long-standing client Brickability Group plc over recent years, he manages a number of key client relationships. These include open banking experts OBConnect; Avantis Marine, an engineering business specialising in the conversion of critical assets and infrastructure; a fast-growth premium vodka brand and a number of exciting early-stage companies. Several deals on which Tom has advised have gone on to win awards at the Insider Wales Dealmaker Awards; a testament to his ability and the high-calibre transactions he handles. Tom won the "Emerging Dealmaker of the Year" award at the Wales Insider Dealmaker Awards in 2020. He is recognised as a Rising Star by The Legal 500, and as an Associate to Watch by Chambers and Partners. Expertise: Acquisitions and disposals Share option schemes Early-stage companies Private equity and venture capital

Zara Goh

Zara is an experienced and commercially focused multi-lingual Senior Associate within Acuity’s Real Estate Team with over 10 years’ experience in Real Estate. Zara specialises in Real Estate Finance, Commercial Real Estate, and Residential Property. She has extensive experience dealing with financing and refinancing, large scale portfolio sales and acquisitions for all asset classes and in a broad range of industries. Her broad client base includes special purpose vehicles, food establishments, retail shops and warehouses, financial institutions, private investors and businesses and sui generis from the UK and overseas. Expertise: Real estate finance Acquisition finance Real estate development Lease negotiations on behalf of landlords and tenants Acquisitions and disposals of leases Lease renewals and licence work Lease variations and extensions Business sales and purchases Acquisitions and disposals of residential properties Unregistered land Acquisitions and disposals of development sites Acquisitions and disposals of off plan and new build properties including student accommodation Auction sales and purchases Shared ownership Transfer of equity Plot sales De-enveloping

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