Practice area: Central London Estates

Alex Greenwood

  • 10 December 2024
Alex Greenwood

Alex is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate team where he has extensive experience across a myriad of commercial real estate transactions. His practice includes acquisitions, disposals and complex asset management transactions, with a particular passion for development projects and forward fundings. Alex covers a variety of sectors but has a focus on industrial and logistics and data centres. 

He has acted for a range of clients such as charitable organisations, livery companies, large institutional investors and developers, advising from heads of terms stage through to acquisition contracts, options, lettings, fundings and finally disposals.

Having worked in-house, Alex has a marked understanding of the requirements of the client and the role that legals perform as one of the many components of the client’s business. This enables Alex to provide legal advice that is commercial and adds real value to the client and their business.

Central London estates

Member of the Central London Estates team at Forsters

Making a positive contribution to the heritage and communities of London

Forsters is one of a handful of law firms to specialise in working with Central London estate clients. We have a long history with these estates, including dealing with world famous landmarks, spaces and communities. Many of the estates have been owned and stewarded by families, institutions and companies for centuries.

We recognise that custodians of these “Great Estates” have to grapple with the unique challenge of maintaining legacies for future generations whilst simultaneously responding to and creating modern spaces, maintaining investments, taking the lead in sustainability and raising the standards of customer service in a global city.

Our Central London estate clientele

The map below illustrates our portfolio of Central London estate clients. Hover on the pins to find out more about the work we do with each location.

Clients

Unrivalled bench strength in central London

Forsters (and its predecessor firm) has acted as a partner to Central London estates owners for over 250 years. We value, above all, forming long-term relationships with our clients, whilst being alive to modern day challenges. Our deep market experience, particularly in private wealth and property, has allowed us to work with clients in making a positive contribution to the heritage and communities of London. We appreciate the importance of understanding our clients’ aims and the history of their London estate, tailoring our service to the requirements of their unique customers, charities and communities.

Seamless expertise at every stage of the real estate life cycle

Bringing together real estate, construction, planning, disputes, finance, corporate and private wealth under one roof.

 

1.

Strategic estate planning & portfolio structuring

Long‑term estate strategy and governance advice

2.

Acquisition & investment

Site and asset acquisitions across all asset classes

3.

Planning & development enablement

Strategic planning advice, including Central London policy and heritage considerations

4.

Construction & delivery

Development agreements, building contracts and procurement strategy

5.

Asset management & estate operations

Commercial and residential landlord & tenant work across retail, office and mixed‑use portfolios

6.

Real estate disputes & risk management

High‑stakes property litigation, including contested lease renewals

7.

Estate finance & capital events

Refinancing and restructuring portfolios

8.

Heritage, culture & stewardship

Listed building matters, conservation requirements and heritage protection

9.

Private wealth, tax & succession

Comprehensive tax strategy for estate owners and family offices

10.

Evolution, regeneration & long‑term value

Estate redevelopment and regeneration programmes

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Modern apartment blocks in Central London
June 2026
Red brick mansion block in London
February 2026
White period building in Central London
September 2025

Meet our team

Katya Churchill

  • 21 September 2024
Katya Churchill

Katya is an Associate in the Real Estate Disputes team.

She advises clients in relation to both commercial and residential property disputes.

Katya has experience in possession claims, leasehold enfranchisement, breach of lease rights and a variety of other landlord and tenant disputes. Her client base includes a range of institutional investors, estates, and individuals.

Freddie Hunter

  • 21 September 2024
Freddie Hunter

Freddie is a Senior Associate in the Residential Property team.

Freddie acts for clients on a vast range of property matters including residential acquisitions and disposals, property refinancing and matters involving leases and licences. Freddie also has experience acting for both lenders and borrowers in property securitisation including Islamic Finance.

He adopts a proactive and tailored approach with clients to ensure matters are progressed diligently and efficiently. He prides himself on offering practical solutions to any issues that might present themselves.

A client has commented that Freddie’s “handling of the transaction at the coal-face was extremely efficient, whilst he is always a pleasure to deal with”, whilst another recognised that “without his persistence, the matters would never have completed”.

Georgia Homatas

  • 21 September 2024
Georgia Homatas

Georgia is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate team. She advises clients on capital instructions in the market and acts for landlord and tenants on all aspects of freehold and leasehold transactions. Her practice focuses on properties held by livery companies, charities and funds which include retail, industrial and office assets.

She acts for investment managers representing institutional investors, charities that hold investment properties and livery companies, and has also acted for major shopping centre owners and pension funds on large shopping centres across the UK.

Georgia aims to deliver consistently high levels of service to her clients by anticipating their needs. She remains friendly and proactive throughout matters and is dedicated to maintaining good relationships with all parties in a transaction.

Caroline Wild

  • 29 August 2024
Caroline Wild

Caroline is Counsel in the firm’s Real Estate Disputes team, specialising in all aspects of leasehold enfranchisement. With 20 years of experience, she is recognised for her technical expertise and practical approach.

Caroline has significant experience advising on lease extensions and freehold acquisitions, both on a voluntary basis and under the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 and the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993. She advises also on Right to Manage claims and the right of first refusal provisions under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. In recent years, Caroline has been actively monitoring and engaging with the development of leasehold reform and in particular, the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.

Caroline’s diverse client base includes landlords and tenants, private individuals, landed estates, developers, property and management companies, housing associations, charities, and UK and international investors. This gives her an invaluable perspective on the priorities and challenges faced by all parties, enabling her to deliver tailored and effective advice.

Laura Neal

  • 29 August 2024
Laura Neal

Laura is a Senior Associate in the Private Client team. She plays a key role in running Forsters’ Art group which focusses on acting for galleries and auction houses, as well as UK-based and international estates, trusts, foundations and collectors. Laura is ranked as an ‘Associate to Watch’ in the Chambers HNW Guide for Art and Cultural Property.

Laura also volunteers at South Westminster Legal Advice Clinic.

Elizabeth Oxendale

  • 29 August 2024
Elizabeth Oxendale

Elizabeth is a Senior Associate in the Real Estates Disputes team.

She advises on both residential and commercial property issues and her experience includes landlord-tenant disputes, possession claims, service charge disputes, lease extensions, lease renewals and neighbour disputes.

Her clients include individuals, trusts, charities and landed estates.

Alexandra Ringrose

  • 29 August 2024
Alex Ringrose

Alexandra is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate team with extensive experience in commercial property transactions, including acquisitions, development, disposals, funding and asset management.

She operates across multiple sectors such as industrial and logistics, retail, office and business space and Central London estates. Known for building long-term client relationships, Alexandra focuses on understanding their business goals to deliver tailored commercial solutions.

Alexandra values an open, friendly and authentic approach in her interactions with clients, intermediaries and colleagues.

Alice Gordon-Finlayson

  • 29 August 2024
Alice Gordon-Finlayson

Alice is a Senior Associate in the Planning team and has extensive experience across a broad spectrum of town and country planning, highways, compulsory purchase, community infrastructure levy (CIL) and heritage matters acting for a range of developers, institutional and private clients.

Alice particularly enjoys advising on the planning aspects of large mixed use and residential developments in and around Central London. From initial strategic advice and planning application reviews, to advice during the planning application process and subsequent negotiation of planning, highways and infrastructure agreements.

She also works for private clients providing bespoke planning advice in both domestic and rural settings. She provides advice on a wide range of areas from the amalgamation of residential property, permitted development rights, listed buildings to enforcement and CIL.

In addition, Alice acts for a number of prominent film studios in this rapidly growing UK sector, assisting them with their expansion aims and development advice from initial acquisition to day-to-day operational challenges and requirements.

Peter Selwyn

  • 29 August 2024
Peter Selwyn

Peter is a Partner in the Commercial Real Estate team. Since joining the firm in 2010, he has gained broad experience across all aspects of commercial property, including acquisitions and disposals, mixed-use developments, landlord and tenant matters, geared leases, rights of light, and sustainability-focused projects, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Peter has particular expertise in advising funds, including Swiss Life Asset Management and Columbia Threadneedle, as well as Central London estates and endowment funds such as The Mercers’ Company and the Corporation of Trinity House.

Known for providing clear and practical advice, Peter helps clients navigate complex issues without unnecessary legal jargon. His experience spans redevelopment projects, acquisitions and disposals, and asset management work, enabling him to identify effective solutions to a wide range of challenges.

He has advised on a flagship London redevelopment project, as well as a variety of logistics, office, mixed-use and commercial developments.

Natasha Rees

  • 29 August 2024
Natasha Rees

Described as ‘standout’ and ‘very high profile’, Chambers, Property Litigation 2024, Natasha was elected to be Forsters’ Senior Partner in September 2022.

As a former Head of the Real Estate Disputes team, she has in-depth experience in all areas of property litigation with particular expertise in high value residential disputes and contentious leasehold enfranchisement.

Natasha advises and acts for landed estates, charities, and commercial landlords. She is also well known for work with leaseholders protecting their interests through the Courts and Tribunals. Most notably she acted for the leaseholders in their successful nuisance action against the Tate Gallery in the Supreme Court appeal known as Fearn and others (Appellants) v Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery (Respondent). As an enfranchisement specialist she also acts for leaseholders in leading enfranchisement cases including the leading cases Aggio and Sportelli and for the Ministry of Defence in relation to proceedings relating to their UK property portfolio known as Annington Property Ltd v Secretary of State for Defence 2023.

Named an “Eminent Practitioner” in Real Estate Litigation by Chambers UK 2026 and selected for the Legal 500 UK’s Property Litigation “Hall of Fame”, Natasha is also singled out as a “Top Recommended” lawyer in Spear’s Property Index 2026.

Catherine Hill

  • 29 August 2024
Catherine Hill

Hailed as a ‘leader in the field’ by The Legal 500 2024, Catherine advises UK-domiciled and UK-resident clients on estate planning and wealth structuring. She is praised as ‘an extremely good technical lawyer with a practical approach’ and for having ‘fantastic client skills’. Her expertise includes devising structures to hold family wealth, including companies, partnerships and trusts.

With extensive experience of managing complex estates in the UK and internationally, Catherine works closely with Forsters’ Corporate and Commercial and Family teams to deliver strategic advice on asset structuring, succession and taxation, taking into account both personal and commercial considerations.

Catherine is also highly ranked in the latest Chambers UK Guide for Art and Cultural Property Law, where she is described as having ‘an excellent reputation for dealing with contemporary artists and their estates. She is extremely knowledgeable in this space and has all the contacts that artists need’. As Head of Forsters’ Art and Cultural Property group, Catherine also collaborates with specialist art advisers through Artistate Limited, an organisation she co-founded to provide complementary services that support artists and their estates in securing an enduring legacy.

Lucy Barber

  • 29 August 2024
Lucy Barber

Ranked in all leading legal directories, Lucy is also recognised as a ‘Top Flight Property Lawyer’ in Spear’s Property Advisers Index. Under her leadership, the Residential Property team was named ‘Residential Property Team of the Year’ at the Chambers High Net Worth Awards 2022 and a finalist in 2024.

As Partner and Head of the Residential Property team, Lucy specialises in all aspects of acquisitions and disposals of freehold and leasehold property. She is a member of the Enfranchisement team, acting for both landlords and tenants in connection with enfranchisement claims. Her work includes advising the Phillimore Estate and the Crown Estate on their enfranchisement claims and management issues arising from their property portfolios.

Lucy is also a specialist in advising on listed buildings.

Lucy acts for a variety of private individuals, developers, investors and lenders and is passionate about building personal and long‑lasting relationships. As a ‘highly respected senior practitioner’ who is ‘technically strong and has a positive, can‑do and commercial approach’, Lucy provides practical advice to ensure the best outcome is reached for clients.

Carole Cook

  • 29 August 2024
Carole Cook

Carole advises UK and overseas individuals and families on tax, trust, estate and succession planning, and philanthropic matters. International in outlook, much of her work centres on cross‑border estate planning and coordinating matters for clients with assets in multiple jurisdictions.

Led by the client’s specific needs, Carole takes a proactive and strategic approach to individual matters.

Carole is ranked in the latest Chambers High Net Worth Guide and is recognised in Legal Week’s most recent Private Client Global Elite Directory. She has also received recommendations in The Legal 500.

Her clients include entrepreneurs, non‑UK‑domiciled and non‑UK‑resident individuals, family offices and the owners of landed estates. She also advises trustees, both in the UK and elsewhere, on tax matters and in relation to their duties.

Carole frequently works alongside and collaborates with colleagues in multiple teams, particularly Corporate Tax, Residential Property, Banking and Finance, and other private client specialists.