About

Team size: 5
Major law firms used: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang, DLA Piper, Eversheds Sutherland

Land Securities Group (Landsec) GC Tim Ashby has gone from headline buyouts in 2017 to quietly getting on with business in 2018. The one constant has been his small in-house team continuing to punch above its weight.

A reduced acquisition appetite is symptomatic of the current real estate market: Brexit headwinds have made some more cautious with their commercial investments and the bricks-and-mortar retail sector has been through some well-publicised issues.

In 2017, Ashby and his head of legal Alex Peeke were involved in the £1.3bn sale of the iconic Walkie Talkie skyscraper. The retail side was active too, with Landsec opening Westgate shopping centre in a £440m joint venture with The Crown Estate.

But last year was characterised by equally important behind-the-scenes work, with GDPR proving a major hurdle. ‘As an industry we have to be more aware of data protection,’ Ashby comments. ‘Whether you own offices or a retail centre, there are things like CCTV and Wi-Fi that we take for granted. Wi-Fi is basically a utility for clients now! That throws up a number of problems.’

Otherwise, he and his team have been preparing other vital groundwork, including an ongoing relationship with Deutsche Bank. Landsec entered into an August 2017 pre-let agreement for the banking giant’s new London headquarters at 21 Moorfields, with substantial planning and preparation soaking up the time of Landsec’s legal function.

As is typical for the real estate sector, Landsec has to send a significant amount of work out to external counsel due to the limited numbers of the in-house team. Cultivating a good understanding with panel firms Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Eversheds Sutherland and CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang is therefore key: ‘We spend a lot of time on working with our panel firms to build a strong relationship.’

Ashby defers a large amount of praise to his vastly experienced in-house team, which has remained mostly stable in recent years. ‘They are absolutely excellent lawyers. They are obviously property lawyers by background, but they also act as seasoned business partners to the whole team. They have got a lot of experience gained over many years.’

Kit Burden, global co-head of DLA Piper’s technology practice, says: ‘He’s gotten hold of the business really well and has helped to implement a good programme of change.’