Sam is a commercial property solicitor specialising in transactional landlord and tenant law. She has extensive experience acting for clients across a variety of sectors in relation to the acquisition, disposal and general management of extensive occupational property portfolios. Sam has worked with some of the UK’s major insurance and retail companies.
Sam advises on a variety of transactional commercial landlord and tenant matters including the acquisition of new leases, lease renewals (including statutory lease renewals pursuant to the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954) and disposals. She also advises upon general portfolio management matters such as lease regearing and variations, formal licences for matters requiring landlord consent, the grant of occupational licences and underleases, and practical operational requirements such as works agreements, rights of way and easements, and wayleave agreements.
Sam has been advising me for over 5 years on commercial conveyancing and landlord and tenant matters. I have always found her advice succinct and easy to understand, resulting in some excellent outcomes. Sam is always quick to respond to my call to action.
Head of Estates for UK Real Estate
for a global insurance corporation
Expertise
- Commercial landlord and tenant
- Occupational property portfolios
- Lease acquisitions and disposals
- Lease renewals
- Lease regears
- Surrenders
- Licences for consent
- Lease variations
- Occupational licences
- Rent deposit deeds
- Grant of easements
- Wayleave agreements
- Rent review memoranda
Experience
Commercial property
- Lead transactional lawyer for global insurer and major plc clients in relation to the ongoing management of corporate occupational and surplus property portfolios. In addition to routine transactional matters in the course of ‘business as usual’, regularly invited to advise at routine estates management meetings.
- Advised on the regearing of occupational leases of a prime office space in London for a global insurance sector client worth in the region of £30 million.
- Acted on the leasehold acquisition of a new South-West hub for a global insurer client comprising prime business park office space, including ancillary parking requirements and the right to carry out works on the landlord’s estate to facilitate a resilient communications supply to the property and additional air conditioning.
- Acted for a major plc in the grant of several underleases of substantial surplus office premises.
- Acted for a telecommunications client in relation to the disposal of decommissioned switch buildings in various locations in England, including in some cases leases back of communications mast sites.
- Senior transactional lawyer for household-name retailers such as Brighthouse, Clarks and EE in relation to the management of their occupational retail property portfolios.
- Advised a major retail client in relation to a pre-let agreement and acquisition of a lease of new retail premises at the Rushden Lakes complex.
- Acted for a retail outlet client in relation to the relocation, renewal and regearing of premises at several well-known UK outlet centres, to include advising on turnover rents and discounting/pricing restrictions.
- Advised a government department in securing rights for the strategic acquisition of leasehold property contingent on the outcome of a no-deal EU exit.
Energy
- Acted for a technology and engineering plc in the acquisition of new industrial premises and the subsequent variation of the client’s leasehold interest to facilitate a new electricity substation to meet the client’s energy supply requirements.
- Acted for a major UK supplier of hydro-electric power in relation to general estate management and operational property matters.
- Acted for a major UK hydro-electric power supplier in relation to acquisition of land to fulfil environmental and corporate social responsibilities.
- Acted on the acquisition of berthing rights in connection with the transporting of large-scale transformer equipment.
- Acted for a major supplier of hydro-electric power in relation to utilisation of surplus land in the UK.
Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.
Career
Sam qualified as a solicitor in 2003. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2020, she worked at DAC Beachcroft.