James has nearly 20 years’ experience and specialises in bridging finance and short-term property finance, as well as, residential and commercial property transactions.
James is renowned for his expertise as a bridging finance lawyer and acts on a regular basis for both lenders and borrowers. He has extensive experience in both standard and bespoke transactions. James’s knowledge in this area means that he is able to anticipate and fully understand lenders’ requirements and thus expedite the transaction. Keystone’s flexible structure is able to accommodate a high volume of matters combined with a quick turnaround, which truly reflects the nature of the ‘bridging’ industry.
James has acted for AIB, Fiduciam Nominees Limited, Fincorp, Handlesbanken, Royal Highnesses, Russell Crowe (Universal), Stride-Up, Future Bricks, and various borrowers.
James also offers an ‘independent legal advice’ service for directors taking guarantees with a mortgage or bridging loans.
Expertise
- Bridging Finance (acting for both lenders and borrowers)
- Facility Agreements; Legal Mortgages; Debentures and Third Party Debentures; Legal and Equitable Charges; Individual, Corporate and Third Party Mortgages; Personal and Corporate Guarantees; Deeds of Priority and Deeds of Subordination (intercreditor deeds); Deeds of Consideration; and even ‘Brexit/Covid’ clauses
- Bridging Loans; development exit loans; pre-development loans; refurbishment loans; auction loans; acquisition loans; business loans; unregulated loans; short-term loans; regulated loans; permitted development loans; cash-flow loans; non-status loans; property-chain loans; property investor loans; and re-finance loans.
- Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBIL)
- Short-term lending (acting for both lenders and borrowers)
- Secured lending (acting for both lender and borrower)
- Setting up procedures and master documentation for various bridging lenders
- Offering independent legal advice relating to guarantees
Experience
General Finance
- Advised on and completed in a short time frame over £100m worth of Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBIL) bridging loans during the lockdown and Covid-19 pandemic.
- Short-term lending to celebrities and well-known brands.
Commercial Property Finance
- Advised on a £1.18m CBILS bridging loan to finance a popular hotel in Cornwall during lockdown.
- Advised on a £9m loan for a 500 bed student accommodation scheme completing within a week.
- Advised on a £15m bridging loan in respect of three care homes allowing the borrower to retain their business.
- Advised on a £1.18m CBILS bridging loan to finance a popular hotel in Cornwall during lockdown.
- Advised on a £7.5m short-term loan in Carbis Bay in advance of the G7 to house the various security needed for the event. This flagship deal involved complex title and planning issues that had to be overcome within a week of exchange of contracts.
- Advised on a £1.6m ground-up development loan for an established housebuilder to deliver three family homes in Worcestershire.
Property Development Finance
- Advised on the financing required to convert a former mill in Newark-on-Trent into 39 flats.
- Advised on a £6m development loan for 34 flats which involved fractional ownership together with the litigious aspects in respect of the same; subordinated creditors in Guernsey; and mezzanine funders.
- Advised on various loans to house-builders including a hybrid development loan for acquisition in Tooting for the development of 5 dwellings.
- Advised on a development loan for the conversion of office buildings into 11 affordable flats in Southampton.
Residential Development Finance
- Acted for the lender for a £3m loan facility secured against their residential property portfolio to facilitate the launch of a new TVR sports car.
- Advised on a £10m birding loan for the refinance of a property in Surrey.
- Advised on the acquisition ‘bridge’ for a £1m property at Chigwell Village.
- Advised on a mixed-use ‘bridge’ in Hoxton for commercial and residential development.
- Advised on a €5m bridging loan against a French real estate portfolio.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Recognition
Recognised by The Legal 500 2022 for Commercial Property: Corporate Occupiers
Career
James qualified as a solicitor in 2005. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2016, he worked at the following firms:
- Pearl & Coutts
- Reed Smith
- Taylor Wessing