Oxford: Penningtons Manches expands real estate team
The Oxford office of Penningtons Manches LLP has added three new property specialists to its Legal 500 top-tier real estate team: Amy Irvine, who joins from DLA Piper; Becky Marsden, who was previously working full time in the firm’s Guildford office; and Lauren Bray, commercial property paralegal.
The 11-strong Oxford real estate team now comprises three partners and eight fee earners who advise on all aspects of commercial property, landlord and tenant work, residential, social housing and dispute resolution law for the full spectrum of commercial and residential real-estate transactions.
Partner Richard Smith, who handles major property development projects and also heads the firm’s environmental law practice, leads the commercial property team in Oxford, while partner Simon Knott, also ‘highly regarded’ in The Legal 500 2014, acts for large corporate retail and leisure-sector tenants with fast roll out programmes such as Fitness First, White Stuff and Lyca Mobile.
The real estate litigation practice in Oxford is led by John Morrison, a partner described in Chambers UK 2014 as 'very technically competent, with good tactical judgment on contentious matters'. He is best known for his unrivalled success in resolving boundary disputes and issues with restrictive covenants.
Senior associates Nick Owens and Amanda Lloyd lead the residential team which has recently been involved in two high-end residential properties in Oxford with values of £7.5 million and £5m, and three high-end London properties with values of £6m, £12m and £25m.
Commenting on the growth of the teams, Smith said: “Over the past 12 months, we have seen a considerable increase in our clients’ demands for our real estate advice – particularly for commercial property development, investment and commercial lease acquisitions.
“We are delighted to welcome Amy, Becky and Lauren to our tier-one team to further strengthen our overall capability and widen the areas of specialist expertise that set us apart from our competitors. From environmental and energy issues to equestrian businesses, anti-social behaviour to pub licensing, and boundary disputes to noise and odour problems, we can advise our clients on almost any property-related legal issue.”
