Acuity Law

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

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

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