Full bio
Practice Area / Expertise
I am Head of the Commercial Real Estate and Secured Lending teams at Harold Benjamin. With over 40 years’ experience in commercial and residential property, I advise banks, bridging lenders, financial institutions, investors, developers and borrowers on high-value real estate and finance transactions throughout England and Wales. I am particularly known for acting on complex secured lending matters, commercial acquisitions and disposals, development finance transactions and time-critical deals involving sophisticated ownership and funding structures. Clients value my practical and commercial approach to transactions. Having acted for lenders, investors and borrowers for more than four decades, I focus on identifying solutions, managing risk and helping transactions complete efficiently and successfully.
I regularly advise on:
- Secured lending transactions for banks, bridging lenders and alternative finance providers
- Commercial property acquisitions and disposals
- Development finance and investment transactions
- Bridging finance facilities
- Real estate due diligence and title investigations
- Property portfolio acquisitions and refinancing
- Complex ownership structures, including corporate and multi-borrower arrangements
- Residential and commercial property finance
- Planning, building regulations and property compliance issues
- Landlord and tenant matters affecting lending and investment transactions
Experience Highlights
- Acting for lenders on high-value secured lending transactions across commercial, mixed-use and residential assets
- Drafting and negotiating finance and security documentation
- Advising lenders on title, valuation and security issues
- Reviewing complex title structures and identifying risks affecting lending decisions
- Advising on planning, building regulations and property compliance matters
- Supporting lenders and borrowers on time-sensitive transactions with challenging completion deadlines
- Advising on development projects, sub-sales and share purchase structures involving real estate assets
- Managing large-scale portfolio transactions involving multiple properties and borrowers
- Acting for lenders and borrowers on numerous bridging finance and refinancing transactions involving complex security arrangements and accelerated completion timetables.
Key Transactions / Representative Matters
- Acting for a bank on a £60 million lending facility to a consortium of four borrowers secured against a portfolio comprising more than 120 units.
- Acting for a lender on a £58 million financing transaction secured against a portfolio of over 100 units.
- Acting for a lender on a £50 million financing transaction involving a portfolio of more than 100 units.
- Advising on the acquisition of a prime Central London investment property let to HSBC Bank for £24 million.
- Advising on the acquisition of a shopping centre for £9.3 million.
