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Nickhil Mandora

Posted on: January 31st, 2025 by Natasha Cox

I am a Director in the Commercial Real Estate team, having joined Lawrence Stephens from Memery Crystal in 2025.  

I act for a wide variety of clients ranging from retail landlords and tenants, to institutional lenders and property developers. I have a particular experience in industrial properties acting for both buyers and sellers. I pride myself on my ability to understand a client’s motivations and priorities within a transaction.

Outside work, I am a a sports fan and play football, tennis and cricket. I also enjoys cooking and travelling (sometimes at the same time).

Experience

  • Assisted on the purchase of a property in Liverpool for £68million.
  • Led the refinancing of 9 properties in Central London with a loan amount of £15million.
  • Part of a small team that acted on the purchase of a commercial site in Oxford for £13million.
  • Acted on the sale of a Science Retail Park for £45million.
  • Led on the purchase of numerous industrial properties ranging from £500,000 – £8million
  • Acted on behalf of a well-known money exchange company on numerous leases throughout central London with rents ranging from £75,000 per annum to £1.2million per annum.

John Aynsley

Posted on: January 31st, 2025 by Natasha Cox

I am a Director in the Commercial Real Estate team, where I specialise in the acquisition, disposal, development, regeneration, financing, and management of high-value assets in commercial real estate, John acts for clients ranging from international real estate funds and listed house builders to private investors.

I joined Lawrence Stephens in 2025, having spent four years at Memery Crystal and seven years at sister brand Rosenblatt.

Experience

  • Acting for a listed house builder on numerous strategic land acquisitions and serviced land parcel sales.
  • Acting for a UK real estate investment group with a motor-trade focus on the disposal of a portfolio of 16 car dealerships.
  • Acting for a private overseas investor on the acquisition of a Mayfair property for a luxury mixed-use development.
  • Advising a Fortune 500 payment technology company on the letting and fit-out of their UK headquarters.
  • Acting on the pre-let, development and subsequent investment sales of numerous retail, industrial and office sites.
  • Advising a corporate finance advisory on the office acquisition and fit-out of an office floor in the Shard.
  • Acting on the acquisition of a portfolio of 40 mixed tenure petrol filling stations for a roadside retail operator.
  • Acting for various impact investors on multi-million pound rolling programmes of portfolio acquisitions of residential multi let properties to be leased to charities who specialise in rehousing ex offender, ex-military personal, the homeless and other vulnerable groups to be sub-sold and held by a fund to ensure the continued and long term use of the properties for social housing purposes.

Chris Cagney

Posted on: January 31st, 2025 by Natasha Cox

I am a Director in the Commercial Real Estate team, having joined Lawrence Stephens from Memery Crystal in January 2025. 

I have extensive experience in a range of commercial real estate matters including acquisitions and disposals and landlord and tenant matters, as well as advising on development projects and property finance transactions. I also have many years of experience assisting residential real estate clients, specialising in the London prime central market.

Experience

  • Acted on the purchase of a mixed use, occupied (serviced offices and hostel) building in Kensington.
  • Acted for a buyer on the purchase of a Grade II Listed building in Belgravia, a development site to be converted into luxury apartments.
  • Acted for a tenant being granted a 10-year lease of three-level office space in a prestigious, newly renovated Mayfair building.
  • Assisted a corporate client on the sale of a care home site in Walthamstow.
  • Acted for a corporate client, advising on property matters, in respect of a castle purchase in Shropshire.
  • Advises the owners of a London based organic produce store with multiple sites across London.

Sam Silverman

Posted on: January 31st, 2025 by Natasha Cox

I am a director in the Commercial Real Estate team, having joined Lawrence Stephens from Memery Crystal in January 2025.

I have gained extensive commercial property experience across a wide range of areas including development, pre-lettings, acquisitions and disposals, international project management, joint ventures and landlord and tenant matters.

Throughout my career, I have acted for major international and domestic clients including developers, funds, corporate occupiers and supermarkets within the office, industrial and retail sectors.

Ulyana Habka

Posted on: December 20th, 2024 by Natasha Cox

I joined Lawrence Stephens in January 2024 and currently in the Real Estate team.

Having previously worked at a city law firm and dealing with all aspects of residential and commercial property, I have experience in commercial and residential property, including working for borrowers, property developers and lenders.

I am committed to personal and professional development and keen to enhance my legal knowledge within real estate and am currently studying LLM LPC part time after successfully completing my GDL at BPP University.

In addition to my law degree, I have a degree in veterinary medicine and previously practiced as a veterinary surgeon.

Having also previously own my own business, I am able to view situations from a business perspective, understand client’s needs and tailor my advice with an analytical and entrepreneurial approach.

Outside of work, I play tennis, enjoy swimming, love traveling and exploring new places, relaxing in nature and am keen to join a rowing club soon.

Stephen Dodge

Posted on: October 2nd, 2024 by Hugh Dineen-Lees

I joined Lawrence Stephens in September 2024 as a trainee solicitor after completing a law conversion course at City, University of London with First Class Honours.

I grew up in Toronto, Canada and in 2017 obtained a Bachelor of Commerce, specialising in strategic management with a minor in economics at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.

Prior to changing careers to work in law, I was Chief Operating Officer of a biotechnology startup that developed AI systems to treat and manage diabetes.

Before joining Lawrence Stephens, I worked as a pro bono paralegal for a West London charity where I conducted several successful benefits appeals with clients living with serious physical and mental disability. 

In my spare time I enjoy running, cycling and rock climbing.

Stephen Messias

Posted on: February 13th, 2023 by Natasha Cox

As a founding partner of Lawrence Stephens with over 30 years’ experience, I bring a wealth of knowledge to the firm in all aspects of commercial and residential real estate, as well as landlord and tenant transactions.

My clients are a sophisticated mix of property companies, individual investors, property traders and trading businesses occupying properties for the purposes of their business as well as individuals.  There’s no such thing as a typical deal.  My transactions can range from the purchase or sale of a commercial investment, the refinancing of property portfolios, commercial lettings whether acting for landlords or tenants, complex acquisitions with lease re-gear and back-to-back sale, as well as residential transactions.

My clients are largely entrepreneurial, running their own businesses and seeking sound, speedy, creative advice and input from us as their solicitor.

Whether transactions are complex, urgent or routine, I like to work with clients in a commercial and pragmatic way to ensure a satisfactory and positive outcome.  Many of my clients have been clients since day one, a testament to the quality of service and advice I strive to provide.

As a result of exceptional work ethic and dedication to my clients, I have been listed as a recommended property lawyer in the prestigious Spear’s 500 list for 2023.

Life is not all about work – I am a keen runner (half –marathons and marathons), having raised funds for various charities and an active Freemason.  I have been married to my wife, Jane, for over 30 years and we have three wonderful children, none of which are following in my footsteps by pursuing a career in law.  Maybe they’ll be clients of mine one day.

Experience highlights

  • Acting for the Epic Group of Companies as landlord on various lettings of commercial premises in various Grade A buildings around the country
  • Acting on a £31m sale of a property previously used as a waste management, recycling and skip hire site, located in North West London. The transaction was a complex and high-value sale
  • Purchase of a £13.5m apartment in Central London for a long standing HNW client
  • Purchase of a freehold investment property let to Santander, subsequent lease surrender, re-letting and refinancing of the property
  • Sale of an office campus investment for £36.7m comprising part of a larger site and the subsequent sale of the remainder of the site in various parcels
  • The purchase of a residential development site and sales of the completed units working with our construction department throughout these transactions
  • The letting of restaurant premises to a high-end restaurant operator as part of a number of lettings in a mixed-use (office, retail and restaurant) city centre development

Emma Clifford

Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox

I joined Lawrence Stephens as a Paralegal in the Real Estate department in March 2021 and won Best Conveyancing Paralegal at the National Paralegal Awards in September 2021. 

I started my training contract in December 2021 and qualified as a Solicitor in 2023. I have since set up LawLinks, a professional network event series for junior lawyers in the firm. More information on the series can be found here.

After graduating from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in English Literature, I completed the Graduate Diploma in Law at BPP University London on a part-time basis whilst working full time as a Commercial Real Estate research Associate at CoStar group.  Through this role, I developed a keen interest in real estate which led me to take the first step into my legal career as a paralegal specialising in residential real estate at a City law firm.  I completed my LPC LLM at BPP on a part-time basis and graduated with Distinction.

I enjoy keeping active and am a keen dancer.  Having completed many years of dance training, I performed in a variety of shows and competitions across the country and now keep moving with weekly classes at Pineapple Dance Studios and pre-work gym classes.