Catherine is a real estate lawyer who works to enable real estate investors, developers and corporate occupiers to successfully fulfil their property requirements. She has 20 years of experience including a three year part-time secondment to a shopping centre developer as sole in-house counsel. Her special expertise is in the management of complex and multi property deals and she has a particular interest in automotive, health and shopping centre sectors.
Examples of the types of work Catherine has undertaken include:
- acquiring landmark listed building 55 Colmore Row, Birmingham and working on the financing, ongoing redevelopment letting and subsequent sale for £98m for IM Properties plc;
- Working with IM Properties on their industrial and logistics development at Hinkley.
- negotiating and agreeing legal documentation for CBRE's new office in Birmingham;
- advising a French motor vehicle manufacturer on all aspects of their English property portfolio including acquisitions, taking leases, redevelopment, underlettings, and disposals (including a nine property sale and leaseback) and the sale of their main UK assembly plant;
- providing real estate support to purchaser's principal legal advisor on Project Isobel (RBS debt sale with a value of over £1billion). Managing a team which reviewed security over 900 properties, sampled titles for more detailed reporting, responded to specific questions on the portfolio, liaised with overseas counsel in relation to real estate/security matters and co-ordinated planning, banking and insolvency specialists;
- managing real estate due diligence team acting for a US private equity firm acquiring Farnborough Business Park for over £70 million including dealing with real estate aspects of the financing and undertaking major land disposals;
- leading the real estate team acting for a UK private equity house on property elements of the acquisition of a special education provider. Catherine reviewed and supervised review of 15 certificates of title, negotiated property aspects of corporate sale agreement and dealt with real estate aspects of debt funding. Subsequently acquiring a freehold property leased to the company and dealt with debt and equity financing aspects;
- acting for investment companies, individuals and pension funds acquiring and disposing of investment properties and portfolios (retail, office and industrial);
- completing land sales for residential and commercial development (including phased payments with security, overage and multiple land draw downs) and "contaminated" and "remediated" land (both with and without overage) for utility suppliers.
- advising healthcare developers (within and outside LIFT) on developments such as the Portway Lifestyle Centre, the Lyng Centre for Health and Social Care, the City of Coventry Health Centre and advising PCT's on property solutions for equitable access programmes.
Catherine joined Shoosmiths in October 2013 from Wragge & Co where she worked as a real estate development and investment solicitor. Originally from North Yorkshire, she has now been in Birmingham for over 25 years, initially studying law at Birmingham University before completing a training contract with Eversheds.