The Macfarlanes LLP real estate finance team is a multifaceted team which draws on the firm’s capabilities in the areas of real estate, construction, corporate, and funds teams to provide lenders, alternative lenders, and borrowers with a large range of financing services. Practice head Colin Morgan is a seasoned real estate finance lawyer, praised for his ‘capacity to understand immediately the breadth, ramifications and importance of issues and the consequences of given directions’. Morgan recently acted for a club of lenders led on a high value loan facility to refinance a luxury hotel in London. Other key figures include the ’commercially minded and solution-focused’ Laura Bretherton, who specialises in financing development projects, and restructuring and insolvency head Jat Bains, a specialist in debt finance work.
Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
‘Colin Morgan and Laura Bretherton are excellent at providing up-to-date expertise on market trends and hosting a series of very relevant seminars. They are commended therefore for their relevant market knowledge as well as top legal drafting expertise in real estate finance.’
‘A strong team ethos from the Macfarlanes team, ensures that you receive strong input whoever you are working with.'
‘Great technical ability, knowledge of market and responsiveness.’
‘Laura Bretherton is fantastic. She has great technical ability which allows her to spot issues early, is commercially minded and solution-focused. She's a pleasure to work with.'
‘Macfarlanes demonstrates that the firm has invested in building up a real estate finance practice that has enough resources in terms of lawyers, and above all sophistication and excellent technical ability. I appreciate their availability and delivery.'
‘Colin Morgan's thoughtful contributions are brilliant and reveal his tenacity and depth of inquiry, and demonstrate his capacity to understand immediately the breadth, ramifications and importance of issues and the consequences of given directions.’
Key clients
- DBS Bank Ltd., London Branch
- Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited
- National Bank of Kuwait (International) PLC
- Realstar Group
- Legal & General Investment Management
- Maya Hyde Park Limited
- Harwell Science and Innovation Campus Limited Partnership
- Hillwood Investment Properties
- Ekistics Property Advisors LLP
Work highlights
- Acted for a club of lenders led by DBS Bank Ltd., London Branch and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation on a £185m loan facility to refinance The Savoy Hotel, one of London's most iconic and prestigious hotels.
- Advised the Harwell Campus, a joint venture between Canadian investment firm Brookfield and the UK Atomic Energy Authority, on securing a £300m financing for the expansion of Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxford.
- Acted for the two lenders on facilities of approximately £507m for the refinancing and development of a London mixed-use development project.
Practice head
The lawyer(s) leading their teams.
Colin Morgan