Areas of Practice
Track Record
Advising HIG Capital on their £31m acquisition involving vacant possession strategy of occupational interest, rights of light releases and complex title issues
Lead for HUB Living on several transactions involving the coordination of corporate, planning and construction team dealing with acquisition documents, development management agreement, joint venture agreement and banking finance documents
Dealing with a significant Build to Rent disposal by way of a forward fund for £115m involving an agreement for lease, development funding agreement, equity guarantee, amendments to JCT contract and overage
Drafting option agreements and conditional contracts for national housebuilders
Project managing a long-term joint venture between a major housebuilder and a registered provider in the delivery of a large Homes England development site that has been ongoing since 2008
Dealing with a national housebuilder’s regeneration of a north London estate in collaboration with the local London borough
Advising a wholly-owned subsidiary of a London borough on its acquisition of approximately 15 sites worth over £27 million (and a gross developed value of over £254 million). These will be redeveloped for mixed-use, with a focus on the private rented sector involving complex title issues, rights of light advice, planning advice, party wall advice, temporary access licences, adverse possession, stopping up and highways issues, overage, conditional contracts and complex planning agreements
Advised on the property due diligence in L&Q’s complex and highly publicised corporate acquisition of a £505 million strategic land company
Education & Qualification
University of Leeds
University of Law
Qualified as a solicitor in 2011
Recommended by Aleem
The introduction of VAT on private school fees has triggered a wave of independent school closures, presenting both challenges and opportunities for the real estate market. In Estates Gazette, Real Estate Partner, Sophie Henwood highlights the key legal, planning and financial considerations investors must address when looking to repurpose these historic and architecturally significant properties.
Read more 3 min read 27 Aug 2025 Demystifying lease renewals for contracted-out tenancies: A guide for new property investorsLease renewals can be a complex process, especially when the lease is contracted out of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. Real Estate Partner, Sophie Henwood, has produced a short guide for new property investors, outlining key considerations for negotiating a renewal, for both landlords and tenants.
Read more 4 min read 31 Jul 2025 Chancel repair liability ancient, unusual, obscure and onerous…Some landowners may still be liable for repairing the chancel of a parish church, a historic legal obligation dating back to the feudal system. In this article, Partner, Saskia Arthur and Senior Associate, Kate Symons look at the Law Commission’s consultation on reforms to the Land Registration Act 2002 (LRA), which seeks to clarify how chancel repair liability should be recorded and enforced, not to abolish it, but to ensure the relevant provisions of the LRA operate as originally intended.
Read more 4 min read 17 Jul 2025 Proposed ban on upwards only rent review provisionsThe Government recently published the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, which proposes banning upwards-only rent reviews in commercial leases. The change is still subject to Parliamentary approval. Under the current system, rent on review can only increase or stay the same and cannot drop below the current rent, even if market rates fall. Partners, David Rawlence and Sophie Henwood, and Associate Kate Symons, outline the key aspects of the proposed ban.
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