Overview
I’m a Partner in Michelmores’ Private Property and Landed Estates team, and head of the Private Wealth team.
Working closely with a mix of well-known individuals, entrepreneurs, companies, trustees and charities, I’m generally tasked with advising them on substantial landed estate, agricultural, country house and high value residential property transactions, whether as vendor or purchaser, as well as assisting with legal issues arising from the day-to-day management of those properties. I’ve dealt with properties all over England and Wales, but I’m particularly active in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire and “M4 corridor” regions.
I’m proud to say that I’m Top Ranked in Chambers UK and recognised as a High Value Residential Property law expert in Chambers High Net Worth, the independent legal guide. I am also a Recommended Lawyer for Agriculture & Estates by the Legal 500. While much of my work has a property focus, my clients old and new rarely hesitate to ask for advice on any subject that affects them, their lives or their families. I thrive on developing and maintaining long-term relationships, often across several generations of one family, and bringing on the people at Michelmores who are going to look after those same families in the future is really important to me. I think that growing with our clients and their families is a legacy to be proud of.
My journey with Michelmores has been an interesting one. I joined the Firm in my twenties and while I moved on to develop a successful career elsewhere, I always remembered the great culture and strong moral compass; when I finally came back here twenty years later, it was exactly as I’d remembered it, while evolving and growing to become even better.
Recent experience
Acting for the purchaser of a substantial high value country house in the Cotswolds with numerous planning and listed building issues and a protected bat colony. From receipt of initial instructions from a new client in mid-December, an exchange of contracts and completion were secured in ten days to enable our clients to put up their Christmas tree and move into the house the day before Christmas Eve.
Assisting with the purchase of an agricultural property where detailed private water supply arrangements, the negotiation of a post-completion surrender of an AHA tenancy prior to exchange of contracts, the negotiation and drafting of bespoke agreements and grants of cross rights with neighbouring landowners and other purchasers, and a sub-sale of part of the property by our client to a sub-purchaser were all required. Navigating detailed negotiations with numerous parties, their Solicitors and land agents, I secured a positive outcome for our client.
Advising on the sale of a rural estate in the south east where additional work was involved to rectify Land Registry title issues, address listed building concerns, deal with employees and service occupancies and ensure the securing and auction of a significant art portfolio within the house for an offshore trust company. A team of specialist lawyers across the private wealth kaleidoscope was assembled to ensure that the Client was closely advised throughout the complex transaction
