John specialises in commercial investment and development in the retail, office industrial and transport sectors and in advising corporate occupiers.

He has over 20 years’ experience advising clients on the acquisition, funding, development, letting, management and disposal of city centre office developments, shopping centres, retail parks, leisure schemes, distribution warehouses and mixed use portfolios.

His key clients include major occupiers, local authorities, developers, property companies and institutional and private funds.

His expertise also covers all stages of the development process, including negotiating development and forward funding agreements, options and rights of pre-emption, pre-let agreements and overage deeds.

Relevant experience includes:

• Acting for a FTSE 250 bus and rail operator and its many subsidiaries on all aspects of its UK real estate portfolio comprising over 150 sites, including direct real estate disposals, acquisitions and development and advising on all real estate aspects of its corporate acquisitions. His advice frequently includes exploring ways of unlocking the development potential and maximising revenue from the client’s property assets including the redevelopment of surplus land for residential and industrial uses and repurposing sites for alternative uses.
• Securing a number of high-value, time-critical headquarters relocations for major corporate occupiers including Panasonic and South Eastern Railways.
• Acting for a pension fund on the purchase and forward funding of a 6 unit industrial development in Coventry, comprising both pre-let and speculative elements, with a gross development value of £25m, and including pre-emption rights for future expansion of the scheme.
• Advising a local authority on the purchase of a town centre shopping centre subject to over 30 occupational leases and involving detailed advice on service charge recoverability in the light of the client’s short and medium term plans for significant refurbishment and reconfiguration of the centre.
• The grant of a complex, 20-year phased option agreement over a major strategic development site in Lancashire.

Clients have said about John: “his knowledge and service are excellent. We have built up a deep trust in his ability to advise us on all property matters, and his understanding of what we need is first class”.

In addition, John is a member of the Investment Property Forum. His articles have appeared in Property Law Journal, Property Week and Showhouse.