Hugh Ford
General counsel
Capital Shopping Centres
Hugh Ford has a small in-house team at Capital Shopping Centres – just one other lawyer and a secondee. But this means he loves the variety of his job, the ‘never quite knowing what issue is going to come across your desk next’.
With such a small team, Ford requires external advice often. Since 2009 CSC has raised over £1bn of capital through various transactions, with Linklaters being his go-to firm for high-end corporate advice.
Like most GCs, Ford puts value for money at the top of his list. ‘At the sort of fee levels law firms like to operate at, providing an average service really isn’t an option,’ he says.
Law firms used: Anderson Strathern, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, Nabarro, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Taylor Wessing, Wragge & Co
2003-present: General counsel for Capital Shopping Centres
1997-2003: General manager legal, Virgin Atlantic
1995-97: Commercial lawyer, British Airways
1992-95: Solicitor, Freshfields