Quentin Gwyer
Senior Legal Counsel UK, GE Capital Real Estate
Admitted as a solicitor in 2004, Gwyer is currently acting as lead general counsel for GE Capital’s UK real estate business, which has been operating in the UK market for 27 years and now has around £2.5bn in assets.
In the autumn of last year, Gwyer played a lead role in the acquisition of a portfolio of performing commercial property loans valued at £1.4bn from Deutsche Postbank. He has also been active in transactions to reduce the company’s balance sheet as it looks at a new strategic direction for the UK business.
One senior insider says: ‘He’s had good transactional experience, has good management abilities, and is a very talented guy.
‘He’s smart, hard-working, perceptive, a team player, and has a good sense of humour.’
Melanie Collishaw
Senior Legal Adviser, Lusail Real Estate Development Company
Collishaw has played an integral role for Lusail in the legal aspects of development of Lusail City – Qatari Diar’s flagship project and the largest development in the state of Qatar – an actual city project that will have an estimated 200,000 residents.
Described as ‘calm, methodical, very good technically and with an engaging personality and good sense of humour’, Collishaw is also described by one Power List GC as ‘definitely one to watch’.
Collishaw has the ability to empathise with the client – typically the development teams – and is not inclined to panic. She has also proved herself capable of working around the cultural sensitivities inherent in working in the Middle East.
Daniel Samson
Director, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Heron International
Samson joined Heron in 2010 as in-house legal counsel, having previously worked as a corporate lawyer at Taylor Wessing.
The DLA Piper-trained lawyer is now extensively involved in all aspects of the group’s corporate and property transactions in the UK and overseas and has recently been appointed as a director of the Heron group.
Peers say that Samson is a proactive lawyer with a real hands-on attitude, with one commenting: ‘He is always committed to teaming up with all relevant professionals in order to get the deal done.’ He leads on a wide range of legal and commercial issues for Heron International, including the refinancing with Starwood for the Heron Tower.
Other developments in which he has played an integral part include the development of the new Guildhall School of Music & Drama and a 285-unit residential scheme at The Heron, London EC2, as well as the £171m development funding for a 116-unit residential scheme at Riverwalk House.
Real Estate Counsel, Intu Properties
Sadler has been at Intu Properties (formerly Capital Shopping Centres) since November 2012, having previously worked as legal counsel and commercial manager at Westfield, dealing with Olympic projects.
During his relatively short time at the shopping centre owner, operator and developer, Nabarro-trained Sadler has made a significant impact, strengthening the links and communication between the internal legal function and the asset management team, with one submission stating: ‘He also delivers a fresh perspective on the interplay between legal technicalities and commercial realities.’
Already heavily involved in a number of large-scale projects (principally bond issues on re-financings) Sadler, who spent three years as a senior associate at Ashurst, has shown great clarity of thought and the ability to grasp difficult issues, taking a clear strategic commercial approach.
In March last year he led on the real estate aspects of Intu’s £250m acquisition of Midsummer Place Shopping Centre from Legal & General.
Jessica Martin
Legal Director, BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Property Management
Having qualified in 2005, Martin joined BNP Paribas (BNPP) in early 2011 and was immediately thrust into working on its flagship development – a major office building at the heart of the King’s Cross regeneration project, involving 350,000 sq ft of offices, 10,000 sq ft of retail and a 3,800 sq ft staff fitness centre.
Since joining as UK in-house counsel, she has played a pivotal role in the ongoing development itself, specifically various key pre-lets, as well as the sale of BNPP’s head lease interest in the site to Axa.
According to one City real estate partner, Martin ‘has established herself as an astute in-house counsel and is adept at advising constituents, both in Paris and in the UK, on a wide variety of legal issues of commercial importance to BNPP’s business’.
Senior Solicitor, Corporate Real Estate Group, Lloyds Banking Group
Tewari is the second Lloyds Banking Group lawyer to make this Rising Stars sector, having received multiple nominations. He is praised for his intellect, business acumen and energy, as well as his ability to quickly grasp the details of a deal and focus on the key legal and commercial points.
During the past 12 months Tewari, who is a general finance lawyer by background but retrained as a property finance lawyer, has led and delivered on a day-to-day legal and commercial guide for the business, a resource aimed at helping it to better manage its legal risk, as well as a personal legal training programme for LBG’s bankers.
One insider says: ‘Kumar has steadily built his reputation in the market and is becoming known in real estate as a talented lawyer with a bright future. He is currently leading on a number of initiatives for LBG including being a key player on all Loan Market Association forums in connection with real estate finance.’
A leading City property law firm adds: ‘Kumar is able to organise large teams internally and liaise quickly and effectively with external counsel and external advisers to reach the desired outcome for the borrower.’
Jonathan Hughes
Legal Counsel and Head of Property UK, Goodman Real Estate
A former Eversheds associate, Hughes now heads Goodman’s real estate team with a calm, constructive and commercial hand.
Having begun his legal career at Nabarro Nathanson in 1999, Hughes moved on to become a senior associate at Baker & McKenzie in Sydney in 2004 and then spent a year at Eversheds in 2006 before joining commercial and industrial property group Goodman in 2007.
He has extensive experience in all aspects of real estate law in the UK and Australia, having qualified in both jurisdictions, including developments, property management, joint ventures, institutional financing and offshore structuring.
According to one lawyer who has worked with him: ‘Jonathan is liked and trusted by the Goodman real estate team and their external lawyers in equal measure.’
Senior Solicitor, Corporate Real Estate Group, Lloyds Banking Group
Despite being less than ten years’ qualified, Batty has a senior role in a team handling all the legal aspects of lending associated with a £31bn portfolio across the UK.
An outstanding all-rounder, Batty is cited as being easy to work with and pragmatic, incredibly bright and ‘really likeable’, bringing a positive drive and energy to her work.
One senior insider says: ‘When you delegate you want it done right the first time and [with Batty] it gets done exquisitely and on time, like having an external lawyer doing it for you.’
Praise also comes from private practice, with one firm commenting: ‘Sarah knows exactly what is and is not acceptable to the bank, particularly when taking security over large property portfolios. She is able to help structure a deal that will work both for the bank and the borrower at the outset and she is excellent at co-ordinating large teams.’
Amanda Child
Legal Manager, Bouygues UK
Having qualified in 2004 at Masons (now Pinsent Masons), Child moved as part of a team to the regeneration department at Campbell Hooper in 2006, which merged with Speechly Bircham in 2009. She has worked on some of the largest regeneration schemes in London, including a £600m flagship multi-phase regeneration of Canning Town. It was this project that presented Child with the opportunity to join Bouygues’ in-house legal team in 2012, where she now advises both Bouygues Development (as developer) and Bouygues UK (as contractor) on mixed-use developments and student accommodation schemes.
Child is described as having an ‘incredible work ethic and attention to detail’ and is an ‘integral part of the legal team’. Insiders say she is fast-tracked for higher levels of management despite being only 33 years old. She provides an effective link between the legal team and commercial project managers, often anticipating their requirements and certainly understanding their objectives. She can liaise, manage and work with local authorities, external solicitors and most importantly, the upper echelons and colleagues in her company in clear and precise terms.
Child manages risk for the company and often reaches negotiated positions against tight deadlines. This is all achieved in a commercial fashion with a thorough understanding of the technical side of the developments and how this should be reflected in legal documents.
Alex Peeke
Deputy Head of Legal, The Crown Estate
Peeke served as an officer in the light infantry of the British Army for five years before becoming a solicitor at Slaughter and May, leaving after six years to join Macfarlanes. He joined The Crown Estate in June 2009, where he is now responsible for the day-to-day management of legal risk and is the legal lead on joint ventures, which have become the most important feature of the implementation of The Crown Estate’s redevelopment strategy for its prestigious Central London estate.
He is noted to be an extremely bright lawyer, who combines excellent technical legal skills with a very pragmatic approach. ‘He is innovative and flexible and is held in very high esteem both by legal and non-legal colleagues at The Crown Estate and by the external legal advisers that he manages,’ says one commentator.
The demands of working for one of the UK’s largest landowners means that Peeke has to focus upon timely delivery of transactions, while recognising the realities of doing business in a complex legal environment, at the same time as displaying clear leadership qualities.