“Colin is noted as a “Leading Partner” in Legal 500 for South West >Finance>Insolvency and Corporate Recovery, where it is recognised he is “particularly experienced in distressed real estate work"”
Legal 500 UK, 2025
About
Colin is a real estate lawyer with nearly 30 years’ experience, and is the head of the firm’s Real Estate Insolvency team.
A partner since 2006 and head of our 100+ strong Real Estate team from 2014 – 2019, he advises clients in the Built Environment, Financial Services, Transport, Defence and Energy sectors.
He specialises in advising on transactions involving financing, investment and development of commercial property investments and land assets for regulated infrastructure projects.
Colin has a particular focus on low carbon projects and has also advised a plethora of public and private sector clients on the real estate aspects of a wide range high-profile rail projects and regeneration schemes.
Experience
- Senior debt lenders: Advising on investment and development matters involving £500,000 to £120 million debt since 1999, covering acquisition, development, and refinancing of stand-alone sites and significant property portfolios across all asset classes.
- Defence infrastructure organisation: Advising on their Major Projects Disposals Programme facilitating thousands of new homes in the future, and a variety of leasing, licensing, lettings, easements, and access arrangements across the nationwide MoD Estate.
- Transport for Wales: Advising on acquiring the Core Valley Lines from Network Rail, including leasing arrangements for stations and depots. This significant complex project won the ‘Energy and Infrastructure Team of the Year’ at the 2020 British Legal Awards.
- West Midlands Trains: Advising on a £50 million investment by Angel Trains into the Tyseley rail depot in December 2023. The funding supports developing the facility to maintain WMT’s new rolling stock using an innovative finance leasing structure.
- Grenian Hydrogen and Tower Group: Advising on the real estate aspects of their first significant green hydrogen projects, negotiating option and lease agreements with landlords and navigating the interface with their Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreements.
Credentials
- Admitted as a solicitor: Western Australia: 1995; England & Wales (2000)
- Colin is an active member of NARA (the Association of Fixed Charge Receivers)