Mills & Reeve LLP

Michelle Cookson

Partner specialising in complex investment and development projects with extensive experience in the higher education and health sectors. She leads the team advising Trinity College, Cambridge, providing advice on the strategic management of their investment portfolio including Cambridge Science Park, Felixstowe Docks and the O2. Other recent work includes advising: Addenbrooke’s Hospital in relation to its £850m expansion of its existing campus; Cheung Kong Infrastructure holdings Ltd, the Hong Kong listed infrastructure company, on the sale of its subsidiary, Cambridge Water, to HSBC bank; and Trinity College on its acquisition of a 50% interest in a limited partnership joint venture with Tesco into a portfolio financed by a £450m loan backed by 30 year bonds on the Irish Stock Exchange.

Nick Finlayson-Brown

Partner. A real estate lawyer with over 25 years of experience helping a diverse range of UK and overseas clients in connection with property investment, development and management across the private, institutional, charitable (including heritage) and public sectors acting for pension funds, onshore and offshore investors and sovereign wealth funds, developers, managers and leading heritage institutions and local/central government agencies. This includes dealing with a wide range of clients with a variety of complex requirements and structures. Projects include acting for property investors and developers in connection with the acquisition, management and development of prime London real estate and national property portfolios - including the West End and the City and advising landowners and developers in connection with the promotion and regeneration of brownfield sites across the UK. Nick also acts for leading heritage bodies in connection with the management and development of their estates including The National Gallery, The British Library, The Science Museum Group and The Natural History Museum. Current projects include the procurement of development partners for 3 brownfield regeneration projects in central London in and around King’s Cross, Docklands and Victoria Embankment. As head of the firm’s China Desk, working with Chinese state-owned enterprises, private companies and multipliers in connection with direct investment from China into the UK and Europe and also working with lawyers in China to provide a trusted network of advisers to clients seeking to invest in the PRC. Current projects include advising Chinese entities on the acquisition of student accommodation, schools, investment in real estate development projects in Docklands and more generally facilitating M&A projects, listings and infrastructure projects. In his role as Head of Office for Mills & Reeve in Cambridge, Nick is active in many local and national networks to promote the Cambridge economy and the entrepreneurial flare and brilliance that has attracted global investors, tech and life science companies to the region and its clusters.  Nick is a champion for diversity and inclusion within Mills & Reeve. This is something that he is keen to see embraced in the wider community.

Charles Staveley

Real Estate Partner specialising in real estate investment and development work Charles leads the firm's real estate investment sector, drawing together expertise in mainstream investment work and alternative asset classes. Charles’s clients include institutional pension funds, management houses, property companies, onshore and offshore investors (in the USA, Asia and Europe). He is a member of the IPF, the Cambridge Land Economy Advisory Board, the IBA Real Estate Committee, the Mills & Reeve Board, is a Charity Trustee of Cambridge RUFC and a Kids cricket coach at St Giles CC.

Laura Ludlow

Principal Associate. Laura is a real estate development lawyer with a focus on ESG issues, advising education institutions, public bodies, institutional investors and developers on real estate and development projects. She specialises in work for the education sector, advising universities and colleges in the management and development of their estates. Laura also has experience of a diverse range of commercial property and construction matters, acting for investment funds, developers and local authorities.

Christine De Ferrars Green

Partner, specialising in real estate development projects. Particular expertise in large scale residential projects and estate management/long-term stewardship schemes.

Vincenzo Maggio

Vincenzo is a partner within the real estate law practice with a heavy focus on investment work and landlord and tenant matters. He usually acts for investor clients, such as a number of Cambridge colleges, pension funds and US listed property investment companies. Vincenzo oversees teams managing extensive property and the work ranges from acquisitions and disposals of multi-let investment properties (typically office accommodation and shopping centres). Recent works includes the forward funding and purchase of the new Microsoft headquarters in Cambridge and the acquisition of three private hospitals. Vincenzo also regularly advises corporate occupiers on their business needs. Recent transactions include the relocation of the headquarters of a financial services company and UK premises for a US e-commerce business. He leads the team providing real estate advice to the BPP Group in relation to their national education centres.