Sophie Smith

Sophie Smith

Sophie is an Associate in the Planning team.

She advises developers, investors and occupiers on section 106 agreements and highways related matters including section 278 and 38 agreements.

Sophie regularly undertakes planning due diligence for commercial developments, including complex phased development schemes to be delivered over extended periods of time. Sophie is experienced in acting for both lenders and borrowers on financing transactions, providing commercially focused planning advice.

She advises regularly on rural property transactions and heritage matters including listed buildings. Sophie has a particular interest in the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 and the associated planning requirements to deliver biodiversity net gain.

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Student accommodation

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Once considered an ‘alternative’, Student Accommodation is now a booming mainstream asset class viewed by both UK and international investors as a key investment opportunity. This dynamic sector has seen rapid growth over recent years, with investment recorded in Q1 2024 being five times greater than Q1 2023, while maintaining a resilient track record.

The number of young people attending university has soared, with an average of 50% now taking the plunge to achieve a degree. But new heights means a need for new living space, and this is where the success of the student accommodation sector has really taken off.

We’ve been there since the beginning and have contributed to countless students residing in their new purpose-built accommodation. It is our ability to service the entire property lifecycle and call upon our specialist teams, like Planning, Construction, Banking, Corporate and Tax, that helps us to do so. Our full service offering puts us in the best position to provide our clients with strategic and commercial advice, whatever their asset and wherever their place in the lifecycle.

With a high profile and strong track record in the market, we frequently advise investors, institutional lenders and developers on everything from site acquisition, development and ongoing strategic management, and to disposal.

If you’d like to hear how we can help with your Student Accommodation needs, get in touch with our team of experts who will be happy to provide support.

 

Our offering includes supporting clients on:
  • Site acquisition and disposal, asset management and corporate

  • Deal structuring

  • Forward fundings

  • Debt finance

  • Leases

  • Planning advice and agreements

  • Nomination agreements

  • Construction contracts

  • Construction disputes, including fire safety

  • Development management agreements

  • Property and facilities management agreements

  • Joint venture agreements

  • ASTs and licences

  • Rent arrears and disputes

  • Tax planning, particularly VAT considerations

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Building safety

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Our Building Safety team specialises in advising on this complex area of law. With expertise in the Building Safety Act 2022 and related Building Regulations, we offer advice to developers, real estate funds, investors, freeholders and leaseholders.

We can advise on the legal aspects arising from the following areas:

Compliance: We advise freeholders and leaseholders of higher-risk buildings on their obligations in relation to the new dutyholder regime and management of building safety risks.

External Wall Systems: In conjunction with experts in fire engineering and façade engineering, we advise on claims arising out of defects in external wall systems.

Lease Terms and Legislation: We review lease terms and relevant legislation, assessing the current position and advising on the respective parties’ rights and obligations.

Service Charges Challenges: We assist in challenging service charges related to remedial works.

Government Funds Applications: We advise clients who are applying for relevant government funds and seeking recovery from the parties responsible for the fire-related defects.

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Richard Spring

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Richard specialises in UK real estate development and primarily advises on the construction documentation for the design and construction of new buildings and the refurbishment of existing buildings.

He advises on projects across many sectors, with a particular interest in residential (including student accommodation, private and build to rent) and hotel projects, acting for developers and investors. He also has extensive experience advising in relation to retail and office schemes.

Richard particularly enjoys complex development work where there is an interface with other practice areas, notably commercial real estate and real estate finance. He prides himself on developing long-standing relationships and delivering advice which is practical and pragmatic, keeping clients’ commercial interests front and centre.

Richard sits on Forsters’ Pro Bono committee and as a member of Forsters’ Graduate Recruitment panel, is heavily involved in graduate recruitment. He participates in the firm’s Working Parents and Carers network, and is involved in Forsters’ Commercial Real Estate Sustainability group.

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Nicola Copsey

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Nicola is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate team and is experienced in a wide range of matters, with a particular focus on development projects and investment transactions within the office, industrial and logistics, and retail sectors.

She advises a diverse client base, including investment funds, developers and overseas investors, and provides her clients with practical advice in an approachable and collaborative manner.

She has a particular focus on student accommodation developments, advising clients on corporate and asset acquisitions and advising throughout the development, including operational structuring and development management agreements.

Nicola is a pillar of support to our future solicitors of the firm in her position as trainee supervisor, where she allocates work, provides feedback and conducts reviews for our junior lawyers. She also supports our community by being an inaugural volunteer supervisor in our Lunch Club, where we provide a hot meal and warm welcome to refugees, migrants and those without resource to public funds.

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Grace Cassidy

Grace Cassidy

Grace is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate practice where she has extensive experience in commercial property transactions, including acquisitions, development, disposals, funding and asset management.

She acts for institutional pension funds and investors, financial institutions and property developers with a particular focus on student accommodation developments.

Grace prides herself on her responsiveness and commitment to offering commercial and pragmatic advice to clients.

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Naomi Trinh

Naomi Trinh

With a passion for commercial and pragmatic advice, personal service and plain English delivery, Naomi has 20 years of experience as a solicitor. Naomi is thoughtful and proactive, consistently demonstrating a dedication to responsiveness, approachability, and clarity. Naomi is a ‘Top Recommended Lawyer’ in The Spear’s 500 2023 directory.

As an integral member of the Corporate and Commercial team, Naomi specialises in acquisitions, disposals, reorganisations, joint ventures, both shareholder and partnership arrangements, and has additional expertise in commercial contracts. Naomi is also a member of the Hotels group, where she frequently advises on hotel transactions, hotel management agreements and contractual arrangements, including terms and conditions, supply agreements and distribution arrangements.

Naomi’s broad client base includes corporates, family offices, start-ups and entrepreneurs, high net worth individuals, property companies, and hotel owners and operators.

Naomi recognises the value of effective collaboration with colleagues across the firm, including those in the Commercial Real Estate, Private Client and Banking and Finance teams.

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Alexandra Townsend-Wheeler

Alexandra Townsend-Wheeler

Alexandra is a Senior Associate in the Commercial Real Estate team with a broad range of experience covering the entire property lifecycle, including development, investment, acquisitions, disposals and management and real estate finance.

Her practice covers a range of property sectors including industrial and logistics, retail, offices and business space, hotels and student accommodation, where she has gained a deep understanding of each sector’s intricacies.

Having worked in real estate since 2007, Alexandra has developed a specialism in development work where she has advised many of the firm’s long-standing developer clients on acquisitions, pre-lets and eventual disposals. She prides herself on establishing and maintaining good personable relationships with her clients, making the effort to understand their businesses and how they evolve over time with a view to delivering targeted, pragmatic and commercial advice.

Alexandra is also a member of our internal sustainability group which overviews the strategy of our client ESG offering. Within this group, she has developed a particular focus on renewable energy.

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Ronan Ledwidge

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Ronan is a Partner in the Commercial Real Estate team and heads up our Student Accommodation practice. Active across mainstream and alternative sectors, such as offices, industrial, student accommodation and build to rent, he leads multi-disciplinary teams acting for funds (institutional and private equity, domestic and offshore) and developers in relation to investment acquisitions and disposals, developments and financings.

He has particular expertise in high value investment transactions (including large portfolios and income strips) and complex development related projects such as forward fundings and forward commitments, as well as in the unique and thriving student accommodation sector. This stemmed his later interest in the wider living sector, where he has become an experienced advisor in the build to rent, later living, hotel and student accommodation sectors.

Having been with Forsters since 1998, Ronan has developed a deep understanding of the practice areas in our business and collaborates daily with colleagues from Construction, Corporate, Tax and Planning, alongside other teams in the firm. Paired with his pragmatic, commercial and technically astute advice, Ronan is able to guide his long-standing clients along every step of the way and acts as an extension of their own team.

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Anthony Goodmaker

Anthony Goodmaker

Anthony is a Partner in the Commercial Real Estate team. He prides himself on being a generalist who can turn his hand to any type of commercial property transaction, but when pushed he would say his specialisms lie in development and complex asset management work, particularly within the thriving industrial and logistics sector. In recent years, he has also taken a keen interest in the student accommodation sector.

Awarded Property Lawyer of the Year at the YN Property Awards 2024, Anthony is committed to understanding his clients’ requirements and delivering against their objectives, ensuring that deals are executed on budget and in a timely fashion. Anthony was also listed as a ‘key lawyer’ in the latest Legal 500 directory for commercial property development.

He is passionate about effective collaboration, working with clients and their professional teams on a variety of deals and projects. Internally he frequently teams up with colleagues in the Construction, Real Estate Disputes, Planning and Tax departments, among others.

He is also the firm’s pro bono partner for commercial real estate and has advised a number of charities on recent property matters.

Having trained at Forsters himself, Anthony is passionate about developing the next generation of lawyers at the firm. He is  responsible for looking after all of our trainees, a role he takes great pride in fulfilling.

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Emily Holdstock

Emily Holdstock

Recognised for her expertise in Chambers UK Guide, Emily is described by clients as ‘sensible and pragmatic’. She is also singled out for her ‘comprehensive experience with various procurement methods and contract forms’ Legal 500 2024.

Emily is a Partner in the Construction team where she specialises in non-contentious matters. She is passionate about the construction industry and about seeing developments take shape. Emily enjoys nurturing relationships with clients and getting under the skin of projects to understand what clients truly care about. She believes in taking an active role in the lifecycle of projects, from early stages to completion.

Emily’s work centres on UK-based real estate developments, including the design and construction of new buildings and the refurbishment of existing buildings, particularly in the logistics, sports, film, living and hotels sectors.

She drafts and negotiates both bespoke and standard forms of construction contract. Where necessary, she is adept at crafting customised solutions that are workable, commercial and results-orientated.

Emily’s clients include developers, funds, contractors and consultants which are active in the UK construction market.

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Heather Corben

Heather Corben

Acknowledging her invaluable ‘can-do attitude’ and ‘creative thinking,’ Heather’s clients cite ‘her knowledge of complex multi-jurisdiction corporate structures’ and her ‘extensive network when working with unusual jurisdictions.’

As a Partner in the Tax team, Heather has a wealth of knowledge in direct and indirect tax issues and regularly advises on corporation tax, capital gains tax (including NRCGT), income tax, national insurance contributions, VAT, stamp duty land tax and the construction industry scheme. She advises a wide variety of clients on corporate real estate transactions, acquisitions, disposals, developments, and joint ventures. Her experience includes advising on hotels, student accommodation, care homes, commercial and mixed- use developments. Heather is also an expert in real estate fund structures.

She advises on M&A transactions, corporate re-organisations and setting up share incentive plans.

Heather’s priority is to provide clients with clear advice and support in challenging situations, always ensuring that she has a complete understanding of their commercial objectives and striving to meet these in an efficient manner.

Her clients include domestic and international property investors and developers, institutional real estate investors (including pension funds), blockchain and crypto-asset businesses, corporates, international executives, and high net worth individuals.

Heather’s wide-ranging experience includes everything from advising on the tax aspects of the purchase of a football club to working with a small UK start-up right through its lifecycle to becoming a major international group.

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