Blog
The Future of Property Finance: An Interview with Roopal Voora
This month we interview Roopal Vora, who has over 30 years’ experience in financial services. Roopal has recently established Noble Financial Solutions Limited, a property finance brokerage specialising in tailored lending solutions. 1. What is your background and experience in the property industry? I have worked in Financial Services for over 30 years, with a…
Read MoreA day in my legal life: Susan Henning
This month, we speak to Real estate consultant, Susan Henning. Where did you start your legal career Having completed a law degree at Leeds, followed by Solicitors’ finals in London, I started as a trainee (or articled clerk as we were known in the mid ‘80s) in a small busy west end firm just off…
Read MoreWhat commercial landlords need to understand about reinstatement clauses in lease renewals
When a commercial lease approaches its end, the question of what a tenant leaves behind and what they take with them can become one of the most contested and financially significant issues in the entire landlord-tenant relationship. Reinstatement clauses sit at the heart of this question, yet they are frequently misunderstood, poorly drafted, or treated as an…
Read MorePayment notices, pay less notices and the risk of contamination: Lessons from Laing O’Rourke v Shepperton Studios
Construction payment disputes are governed by strict statutory notice requirements. Under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (as amended), both employers and contractors must serve notices within defined timeframes and with prescribed content if they wish to preserve their position on payment. A question that had not been authoritatively resolved, until now, is what happens when a payment notice is defective. Does…
Read MoreStartups as future anchor tenants
The commercial property market is facing a genuine reckoning. Office demand has fragmented in the wake of hybrid working. Retailers have restructured, surrendered space and in some cases disappeared entirely. Household names that once anchored buildings and business parks have downsized, entered CVAs or vacated without warning. The lesson of recent years is that covenant strength, that long-cherished proxy…
Read MoreThe £33 Billion Question: What Property Owners Need to Know About Refinancing in 2026
New lending for UK commercial real estate reached £52.7 billion in 2025, its highest level in a decade. The research, published by Bayes Business School, generated broadly positive headlines, and with good reason. A 29% year-on-year increase in new lending is a meaningful signal of returning confidence in the market after a difficult few years. But for many property…
Read MoreA day in my legal life: Henry Ryder
This month, we speak to Finance Consultant, Henry Ryder. What has shaped your approach to transactional practice? I have always gravitated towards finance and transactional work – it has been the consistent thread in my career. I started in large international firms working on high-value transactions, which gave me a strong grounding in technically demanding…
Read MoreBanking on Relationships: An interview with Charlotte Malley
This month, we interview Charlotte Malley, Corporate Banking Manager at Handelsbanken. Charlotte joined Handelsbanken as a graduate and now manages a portfolio of corporate customers in the London West end branch, attracting new deposit and lending business to the bank. What is your background and experience in the property industry? My background in the property…
Read MoreGovernment to ban the use of retentions in construction contracts
For decades, the withholding of a retention payment has been a common feature of construction contracts across the UK and is provided for in many standard forms including JCT and NEC. Contractors have worked under a system in which a percentage of their agreed contract sum was withheld by clients and main contractors as security against defective work. For contractors lower down the supply chain, that has long meant operating with money earned but…
Read MoreHow the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 has ended the AST trap for leaseholders
Buried in the Housing Act 1988 was a legal quirk with nothing to do with short-term renting, and everything to do with the security of people who owned their homes on long leases. For years it caused real difficulties for buyers, sellers and mortgage lenders. Quietly, in the background, without most of those affected ever knowing it was there.…
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