He advises on building and engineering contracts, development agreements, public/private partnership agreements, operation and maintenance contracts, FM contracts, consultant appointments, collateral warranties and other ancillary documents. Robert has worked in a variety of sectors including housing, health, transport, education, energy, retail, defence and leisure, and has worked on all types of construction procurement, including design and build, target cost, construction management, management contracting, traditional and alliancing. His clients have included project sponsors, developers, lenders, contractors and procuring authorities, and he has advised on projects in a number of jurisdictions including the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Kazakhstan and Ghana.

Robert has recently worked on a series of building safety remediation projects for building owners of high-rise buildings, including cladding replacement projects. These have included grant-funded projects under the Building Safety Fund and the Cladding Safety Scheme. He also advises clients on issues arising out of the Building Safety Act. Robert also has particular experience of advising on domestic and international public/private partnerships (PPP), such as advising on PPP projects for housing, highways (including bridges and tunnel projects), hospitals, schools and military accommodation projects. His experience extends to advising on industry standard forms such as the JCT, FIDIC, NEC, and MF/1, as well as bespoke building and engineering contracts.

A member of the firm’s 24/7 global response team, John regularly advises shipowners, P&I clubs and underwriters on issues involving collision, salvage and insurance disputes. He also advises clients in respect of marine personal injury and fatality incidents, for which he is regarded as a market leader.

With the increase in criminal sanctions in recent years, John has developed a particular expertise in guiding clients through investigations by the MAIB and HSE and in defending prosecutions by the MCA Enforcement Unit and the police. He speaks fluent French, holds the Diplôme Supérieur de Droit et de Français des Affaires, and is admitted to the Paris Bar.

He advises on the acquisition, asset management, development and disposal of land and buildings in England. This includes business parks, industrial estates, offices and development land by way of joint venture agreements, promotion agreements, options and sale contracts which are conditional on planning permission, tender, construction and overage provisions. In respect of landlord and tenant matters, Charles deals with the granting and renewal of leases, licences, easements and wayleaves, and the service of schedules of condition.

His client list includes property investors, developers, industrial occupiers, water companies and wholesale businesses. Charles has particular expertise in the entertainment sector, advising record labels, music publishers and recording studio owners. He has been recognised in the Best Lawyers Directory 2024 as a specialist real estate lawyer, having been consistently recommended since 2009, and featuring as its ‘Lawyer of the Year’ in 2023.

He has particular expertise in technology transfer, representing funding bodies, research institutions and spin-out companies, and has acted for spin-out companies from both Oxford University and Imperial College for over 30 years. Chris is a member of the Legal 500’s Hall of Fame, a category reserved for ‘lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and clients for their longstanding involvement in market-leading work’. He has also been ranked by Chambers UK for 22 years for both intellectual property (band 1) and life sciences: transactional (band 3).

One of a select list of UK lawyers who are ‘highly recommended’ for patent licensing in IAM Patent 1000, Chris is described as ‘extremely strong’ and as having ‘an assured command of the life sciences, publishing and engineering sectors’. Clients describe Chris as having ‘a brilliant grasp of commercial IP matters’.

Much of Teja’s work has an international dimension. This includes guiding UK companies expanding overseas, or overseas companies investing into or entering the UK market. He has over 30 years’ experience helping businesses, including private groups, financial institutions and investments funds, to successfully acquire, sell and invest in businesses worldwide.

As a member of Penningtons Manches Cooper’s India group, Teja has helped many Indian companies enter the UK through acquisitions or establishment. He also has substantial experience working on transactions throughout Europe and in the Gulf. He is instructed to give specialised legal opinions on English company law and practice, including as expert evidence for use in litigation before courts outside the UK.

Teja brings the benefit of his commercial acumen and experience to clients. He is a non-executive director of the fast-expanding Levi Roots/Reggae Reggae Group.

As an energetic and versatile lawyer operating mainly in the world of real estate, Louis is considered a confidant, trusted adviser, problem solver and negotiator for entrepreneurs, developers, retailers, hoteliers and many others. His recent work has involved iconic office buildings, prime retail, golf courses, football clubs, stations, office parks, hotels and sewage works.

Louis advises owners and senior management on high-level strategy and key negotiations, leading the legal team on transactions and disputes, both substantial and small, with the goal of establishing long-term relationships and adding value. In particular, he specialises in joint ventures, creating them and helping to resolve matters when they go wrong, through negotiation, lateral thought or, as a last resort, litigation. Louis became a partner in the firm in 2013, and transitioned to his current role as a consultant in 2019.