Posted on: January 23rd, 2025 by Hugh Dineen-Lees
I joined the Real Estate Finance team in January 2025, specialising in a wide range of real estate transactions. These include secured lending, acquisitions and disposals of residential and commercial real estate, refinancing, transfer of equity and lease extensions.
Over the past seven years, I have built a reputation for managing complex caseloads with precision and have delivered exceptional results for my clients.
I pride myself on my attention to detail, ability to work effectively under pressure, and strong commercial awareness. I am passionate about providing clear, practical advice and helping my clients achieve their goals, whether they are buying a home, refinancing a property, or navigating complex real estate legal issues.
Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, I worked as a property consultant, where I provided bespoke advice to clients and guided investors through property acquisitions. I also gained valuable insights into client management and negotiation skills during this time.
Outside of work, I enjoy attending reformer Pilates, yoga and fitness classes, skiing, spending time with family and socialising with friends.
Experience Highlights
- Being a key member of the team acting for the lender on a £50million refinancing secured over seven properties in central London
- Acting for client on transfer of equity and refinancing of a portfolio of eight residential properties
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.
Posted on: December 12th, 2024 by Natasha Cox
I joined Lawrence Stephens as a Real Estate Finance Solicitor in 2024, following my qualification at a West End firm in 2022. I advise clients on a wide range of real estate transactions, including property acquisitions and disposals, refinancing and restructuring, secured lending, and commercial and residential mortgages. My approach centres on building strong relationships by working closely with clients to understand their unique needs and long-term objectives.
Outside of work, I enjoy playing tennis, taking Reformer Pilates classes, and exploring new restaurants.
Experience highlights
- Acting for a lender in providing a £9 million facility to a BVI Company that was acquiring nine off plan residential units in Central London.
- Acting for a borrower in the acquisition of a mixed-use property using bridging finance for a sum of £1.2 million.
- Acting for a landlord in granting a new lease for a retail unit outside of the 1954 Act and completing within a week.
- Acting on behalf of a borrower and lender in a limited company’s restructure.
- Acting on behalf of a landlord in granting a lease to a care home.
Posted on: December 6th, 2024 by Natasha Cox
I am an Associate in the Real Estate Finance Department at Lawrence Stephens.
I have a wealth of experience in both commercial property and real estate finance and have acted for landlords and tenants, investors, developers and lenders on a variety of property related transactions.
My understanding of the London property market and my commitment to delivering tailored solutions for my clients have earned me a strong reputation in the legal sector.
I am recognised for my experience with complex and time sensitive transactions and my clients appreciate my practical and commercial based approach and trust in my ability to get the transaction completed swiftly and efficiently.
Experience highlights
- Acting for a borrower on a complex £7 million purchase of a commercial site with bridging finance.
- Acting for a borrower on the re-finance of a large portfolio of residential and mixed use properties with a value of £5 million.
- Acting for a borrower in connection with the purchase of a residential development site for £3 million with development finance
- Acting for a borrower in connection with the purchase of a residential development site with finance and the subsequent sale of each unit
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
I am an experienced Associate in the Real Estate Finance team.
I regularly act for high-net-worth investors, borrowers and lenders, challenger banks, bridging finance companies. I focus on refinance work and acquisitions often involving portfolio work. I also work on purchases and sales and have a number of long-standing relationships with individuals and companies.
When I am not focusing on providing a professional and personal service to my clients, I am an advocate for corporate mental health and wellbeing and personal health coaching. My keen interest and accreditation in the nutrition and functional medicine world brings the perfect balance of a city life and self-care.
I was shortlisted for ‘Most Inspiring Employee of the Year’ at the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards 2023.
Outside of work, I regularly attend yoga and fitness classes and love to travel.
Experience highlights
- Acting for a lender in relation to an £8m refinance against a portfolio of 9 properties
- Acting for the sale of a multi- million-pound Central London townhouse
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
I joined Lawrence Stephens as a Partner in September 2019 and contribute over 35 years of legal experience to our Real Estate/Secured Lending team.
Over the years, I have established a proactive, can-do attitude to meeting clients’ objectives and offer a level of service which, given my number of repeat clients, has clearly proven attractive.
I act for a range of leading UK specialist bridging finance lenders, providing extensive advice on property finance, landlord and tenant and commercial conveyancing matters. As well as advising on the acquisition, disposal and letting of commercial property, I have a large number of private property investors to whom I provide all types of commercial property management advice.
My clients are predominantly made up of established lenders in the bridging finance or property lending market and long standing private property investors. These range from clients with large Central London holdings to those with portfolios of shops, offices and industrial units. The variety offers a significant volume of work, but also provides the opportunity to establish close personal relationships with individual underwriters.
Lawrence Stephens’ cohort of long-suffering Spurs supporters welcomes me with wide open arms, though I also enjoys tennis, cricket and bridge, and am an avid cinema and theatre-goer. When I’m not working, I involve myself in charity work to provide holiday opportunities to under-privileged children.
Experience highlights
- Acted for the sale of a private property investor in relation to the sale of a portfolio of 18 tenanted properties at a price of £5,162,500
- Acted for the bank in relation to a loan of £1.25m secured by a mixture of first and second charges over six freehold and leasehold properties
- Acted for the executors of an estate in relation to the sale of two linked flats in St Johns Wood for £2.65m with enquiries from both buyer’s and lender’s solicitors
- Acting for borrower and lender in relation to 9 separate loans on a mixture of freehold and leasehold residential properties having a total loan value of £1.7m
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
With over 13 years’ experience in commercial real estate, I am a core member of my department representing property developers, investor clients, lenders and commercial landlords and tenants.
I have a particular focus on refinance work and act regularly for borrowers on single to large portfolio refinances. I understand the pressures which some borrowers are faced with when refinancing, making timing critical to ensure that the new facility is completed coterminous with the redemption of the outgoing loan.
I also act for a variety of lenders including commercial lenders, bridging lenders and digital mortgage lenders.
Irrespective of the value of the transaction, I am always driven to secure the best results for my clients. This is achieved by taking the time to understand my clients’ business and effectively ‘stepping into their shoes’.
I value the importance of working relationships with clients, brokers and agents, regarding these relationships as integral to the progression, efficiency and outcome of my transactions.
When not at work, I spend quality time with my two daughters. As well as cooking and listening to music, ‘pounding the pavements’ and exploring the sights on a city break are my favourite ways to relax. I have also rediscovered my netball skills by joining the firm’s netball team.
Experience highlights
- Acting for Monument Bank and the borrower on a £4.1m refinance across a portfolio of eight properties
- Acting for the borrower on the refinance of a 44 unit residential development including the subsequent sale of each unit
- Acting for a challenger bank on a development loan of £3.8m which completed in nine days consisting of multiple tranches
- Acting for a challenger bank on a £7m loan to refinance a well-known hotel chain in Nottingham
- Purchase of various residential and commercial units for an investor client with the assistance of a bridging loan and the subsequent refinance under a term loan
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
I joined Lawrence Stephens in 2016 as an Associate and became a Director in Lawrence Stephens’ Real Estate Finance department in 2020. I qualified as a solicitor in 2011, having previously worked in the commercial world of sales and marketing.
As an integral part of the team, I act and advise both lenders and borrowers in relation to secured lending matters that, in many cases, involve multiple properties.
I regularly act for lenders in a variety of sectors including retail, hospitality, commercial and healthcare. With a broad knowledge of those areas, my advice is valuable in providing both the lender and borrower with a quality professional service.
Experience highlights
- Acting for a borrower in relation to a £27m refinance secured against 119 properties
- Acting on behalf of a lender in putting in place security over new and existing properties under a revolving £25m LMA loan facility
- Acting for a client dealing with property aspects for a client selling multiple companies with a combined property portfolio of circa 200 properties
- Acting for a borrower in a £33m refinance of a residential block of flats recently converted from offices
- Acting for lender in a £8m refinance secured over 9 properties
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
I joined Lawrence Stephens as a Solicitor in the Real Estate Finance department in August 2022, having qualified in 2021 at a boutique firm specialising in property.
I have experience acting on secured lending transactions for both lenders and borrowers. I have also worked on acquisitions, disposals and refinances of both freehold and leasehold properties, mostly mixed-use and residential for both residential and commercial clients.
I am from an international background, having come from Korea and lived in Poland for a few years. I am a travel enthusiast and also enjoy outdoor hiking and trekking adventures.
Experience highlights
- Acting on £6.5m refinance to be securing four multi-unit commercial properties
- Assisting on acquisition loans for multiple mixed-use properties
Posted on: February 10th, 2023 by Natasha Cox
I am a Senior Associate in the Real Estate Finance Department having joined Lawrence Stephens in 2011.
I have a wealth of experience acting for leading UK buy-to-let lenders, bridging lenders, challenger banks and building societies, dealing with both regulated and unregulated loans on commercial and residential property portfolios.
I am by nature a people person. I build strong relationships with my clients by investing time in getting to know them and their business needs, thereby ensuring that my advice is always commercial, practical, and forward-thinking.
I work closely with brokers and other professionals on every deal as I believe that collaboration and clear communication are the key to efficiency, consistency and maintaining an excellent reputation in the long term.
Whilst I enjoy the thrill of completing complex deals to tight timescales, I am also invested in supporting my clients on a broader level be it through improving legal understanding with regular seminars or being agile in my approach and style to support rapid growth.
Outside of work, I am kept busy by my three amazing daughters and their social calendars. I love cooking, baking and fitness.
Experience highlights
- Acting for a buy-to-let lender on a £7m loan secured over 10 new build flats.
- Being a key member of the team that assisted a banking client grow a loan book from £60m to £2.5bn in a little under three years.
- Acting for borrower on an £8.5m refinancing of a site in central London in a matter of days.
- Acting for borrower on an £18m refinancing of a portfolio of 120 residential properties
