Blog
A day in my legal life: Ella Tozzi
I started out my ‘legal life’ by working as a legal secretary, many moons ago, becoming a senior partner’s secretary in the early 1980s. When the partner retired, I became a legal assistant in the property department at Boodle Hatfield where I continued to work for 39 years, crossing paths eventually with both Karen and…
Read MoreThe Art of Preservation: An interview with Lucy Fellows
This month, we speak to Lucy Fellows, from The Conservation Room. Lucy specialises in art conservation. Having trained at the Courtauld Institute of Art, she worked for several private conservation studios all over London before setting up her own studio, The Conservation Room, in East London. What is your background and experience in the property…
Read MoreAre wet-ink signatures still necessary: Why commercial property is moving towards digital execution
For most of the industry’s history, a commercial property transaction was shaped as much by geography as by law. Deals moved at the speed of the post, the availability of witnesses, and the diary of a surveyor who needed to visit in person before a lender would commit. Developers, fund managers, institutional investors and bridging…
Read MoreWhy commercial property sales collapse before completion, and how to navigate the risk
For many parties involved in a commercial property transaction, exchange of contracts feels like the finish line. Months of negotiations, due diligence, financing discussions and legal drafting have finally produced a binding agreement. The uncertainty that characterised the earlier stages of the deal appears to have fallen away, and buyer and seller can begin to…
Read MoreWhat the retail investment recovery means for landlords and investors in 2026
Earlier this year, we covered why the 2025 UK retail property recovery was contractual, not speculative, which was largely driven by rebased income, disciplined lease structures and assets that had already repriced through the cycle. Six months on, the story has developed. What was a recovery is beginning to look like conviction, and the decisions…
Read MoreRising temperatures, rising risk: What extreme heat means for construction projects
By the middle of July 2026, the UK had already lived through three official heatwaves this summer. Norfolk recorded 37.7 degrees in June, London touched 35 in a fresh spell in July, and the country had by that point seen more days above 30 degrees than the whole of 1976. It was also the first…
Read MoreWhat the Government’s new EPC announcement means for commercial landlords
Commercial landlords in England and Wales have been operating under considerable uncertainty about the future of energy efficiency requirements for some time. The current minimum standard, an EPC E rating, has been in place since 2018, but successive consultations have pointed toward a significantly higher threshold, leaving landlords and their advisers working toward targets that…
Read MoreApproving a sublease: Protecting value, income and flexibility in commercial property assets
When a tenant approaches a commercial landlord with a request to sublet, the consent process can appear straightforward on the surface. Check the lease, instruct solicitors, issue a licence. The risks of getting it wrong, however, are anything but straightforward. A poorly assessed consent decision can erode rental tone across an estate, introduce operationally incompatible…
Read MoreStay aware of the annexures: Why construction contracts fail long before work starts
Construction disputes usually present as arguments about delay, defective work or payment. Look behind many of them, though, and the real cause can often be traced back to something that was never properly resolved before the contract was signed. A specification didn’t match the drawings, or a programme assumed something the contract didn’t actually provide…
Read MoreA day in my legal life: David Johnson
David has more than 35 years of experience, advising clients on all aspects of non-contentious and contentious construction law. His experience includes drafting, negotiating and amending construction contracts, consultant’s appointments, performance bonds, warranties and guarantees. Why did you decide to become a solicitor? My interest in law developed from doing an A level in Economics and…
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