John's expertise also covers all stages of the development process, including negotiating development and forward funding agreements, options and rights of pre-emption, pre-let agreements, and overage deeds.

Relevant experience includes:

• Advising Royal London in connection with its New Bond Street estate, including lettings and asset management and advising on development constraints in connection with re-development proposals for the estate, covering landlord and tenant considerations, prescriptive rights, highways issues, rights of light, and other neighbourly matters
• Acting for an international bus and rail operator and its many subsidiaries on all aspects of its UK real estate portfolio comprising over 150 sites, including direct real estate disposals, acquisitions and development and advising on all real estate aspects of its corporate acquisitions.  John also advises on unlocking the development potential of surplus land and airspace and on the Group’s programme to de-carbonise its fleet.
• The purchase, development, letting and onward sale of a proposed 60-storey office and retail development in the City of London, including site assembly, securing the release of third-party rights (including rights of light, restrictive covenants and adverse rights constraining development), and negotiating office and retail pre-lets
• Securing a number of high-value, time-critical headquarters relocations for major corporate occupiers, including Panasonic and South Eastern Railways
• Acting for a pension fund on the purchase and forward funding of a 6 unit industrial development in Coventry, comprising both pre-let and speculative elements with a gross development value of £25m, and including pre-emption rights for future expansion of the scheme
• Acting on the purchase, asset management and sale of various shopping centres and retail parks for pension funds and local authorities