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 enjoy 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.
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.
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.
Posted on: January 31st, 2025 by Natasha Cox
I am a Director in the Commercial Real Estate team, specialising in general commercial real estate with a mixture of investment, development, finance, occupier, and management work.
I also have has considerable experience dealing with distressed real estate on behalf of banks and insolvency practitioners.
Experience
- Acting on the acquisition of a portfolio of 15 mixed tenure petrol filling stations for a roadside retail operator.
- Acting on the acquisition and development of numerous new to industry petrol filling station sites 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 personnel, 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.
- Acting on the pre-let and forward sale of a Travelodge hotel.
- Acting on the pre-let, development and subsequent investment sales of numerous retail, industrial and office sites.
- Acting for a manufacturer on its land acquisition and subsequent development and financing of a bespoke distribution warehouse facility.
- Acting for liquidators on the disposal of a portfolio of over 140 freehold and leasehold pubs.
- Acting for administrators on the disposal of 5 mixed tenure business parks and associated management company structure.
- Acting for a hedge fund relocating to newly built office accommodation in the city and exiting them from their existing lease arrangements.
- Acting on numerous institutional office lettings for a leading developer and investor.
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.
Posted on: November 12th, 2024 by Natasha Cox
I am a Director in the Dispute Resolution team, having joined Lawrence Stephens in November 2024. My practice covers a broad range of commercial disputes for businesses and high-net-worth individuals. My cases are frequently complex, document heavy and involve multiple parties as well as a cross-border element and the need for emergency relief (e.g. freezing orders).
I specialise in substantial civil fraud claims (notably data/computer hacking claims) and complicated multi-national, enforcement and asset tracing work. I also advise on breach of trust, professional negligence, contentious insolvency and director, shareholder and/or partnership disputes.
I have also developed a niche practice in art and collectibles disputes.
Experience highlights
- Farhad Azima -v- Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA), Neil Gerrard, Dechert LLP and James Buchanan. Acted for Mr Azima in his long-running dispute against the Ras-Al Khaimah sovereign wealth fund (and other alleged co-conspirators). The case involves allegations of computer hacking by RAKIA of Mr Azima’s confidential and privileged data. Further information on the case can be found here: https://www.brickcourt.co.uk/news/detail/judgments-in-favour-of-emirati-sovereign-wealth-fund-set-aside-on-grounds-of-fraud-by-the-fund and https://www.solicitorsjournal.com/sjarticle/uk-high-court-voids-judgments-amid-allegations-of-hacking-and-fraud
- Advised a well-known catering company in relation to their rights, remedies and reporting obligations following a malicious breach of their email system whereby the malicious entity circulated confidential information and disparaging comments to members of staff which (in part) led to threatened trade union action.
- Advised a wealthy businessman on his rights and remedies following the alleged hacking of his personal data and forging of documents by a firm of private investigators to support a substantial claim against him (and others) in the English High Court.
- Acting for a fintech client in relation to their claims against a payment aggregator. Obtaining an emergency worldwide freezing order, proprietary injunction and disclosure orders concerning the misappropriation of a substantial sum.
- Substantial fraud claim against a rogue builder following his gross over-charging of an elderly client. An emergency freezing order, proprietary injunction, third party disclosure order and an order for the delivery up of a number of high value vehicles obtained. Further assisted the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring a successful criminal prosecution against the rogue builder.
- Successfully defended a fraudulent attempt to obtain adverse possession of land and obtained judgment that the documents later relied on in enforcement proceedings were a sham.
Posted on: July 10th, 2024 by Natasha Cox
I have more than 25 years of experience in construction and engineering as both a litigator and a transactional lawyer and provide my clients with advice spanning both contentious and non-contentious matters relating to construction, engineering and infrastructure projects.
As a litigator, I have experience in adjudication, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and have acted as an adjudicator in numerous construction and engineering disputes. On the non-contentious side, I draft and negotiate all forms of construction and engineering contracts and advise on bonds and guarantees related to those contracts. I have also advised on engineering contracts for oil and gas companies and pharmaceutical infrastructure projects.
Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, I practiced as an architect where I was involved in hotel, office and retail projects. This background provides me with unique insight into the problems associated with construction projects.
Experience highlights
- Acting for an international five-star hotel chain on disputes and negotiating their construction contracts and appointments
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Acted for a private individual in respect of a £5m claim against the professional team on her build project where the property was not habitable. Secured a settlement out of court for the client.
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On behalf of a multinational company specialising in luxury goods, reviewed and advised on the contract for the design, fabrication and installation of pop-up exhibition space and advising on the contracts for the design and construction new boutiques in the UK.
Posted on: June 25th, 2024 by Yvonne Uzoka
I am a director in the Real Estate Finance team and Legal 500 recognised lawyer.
I have a wealth of experience of working on real estate finance deals, particularly development finance, property acquisitions and sales, residential landlord and tenant issues, title rectifications and working with litigation colleagues on complex disputes which involve real estate and finance. I have acted for a range of banks, lending institutions, fixed charge receivers, developers, property companies and individuals.
Prior to joining Lawrence Stephens, I was a partner for many years in the city firm of Rosling King LLP in the real estate team.
My large family keeps me busy but in my spare time I love pottering in my garden and clay pigeon shooting with my husband and friends.
Posted on: June 21st, 2024 by Hugh Dineen-Lees
I have over 10 years’ post qualification experience of acting for a wide range of lenders, financial institutions, sponsors and corporate borrowers on all forms of finance transactions ranging from £100,000 up to £80m, with a particular focus on real estate finance.
I advise on senior and mezzanine loan origination, equity investments, loan restructuring and enforcement across a wide variety of asset classes and often with cross border elements, regularly working with lawyers in off shore jurisdictions such as the BVI, Guernsey and Luxembourg.
I advise developers and funders on real estate development projects and in addition to documenting and negotiating acquisition and development finance documents, I also advise on joint venture agreements and the preparation and negotiation of industry standard and bespoke construction documents.
Posted on: June 13th, 2024 by Natasha Cox
I am a specialist litigator for complex and multi-jurisdictional disputes with blockchain technology and digital assets at their core. My practice includes crypto asset recovery for individuals and businesses following a hack, scam or misappropriation. I have extensive experience in obtaining urgent bespoke injunctions, worldwide freezers and specific disclosure orders.
I am currently chair of techUK’s Digital Asset Working Group, designed to (i) consider opportunities for market growth (ii) steer industry players by giving a collective voice to stakeholders large and small and (iii) help educate how both this asset class and technology can shape financial services and beyond.
My practice also includes commercial litigation, disputes concerning technology and intellectual property matters, including trade mark and copyright infringement over digital, artistic and technology focused works.
As founder and host of the In Early Podcast, I speak with those at the forefront of the blockchain and technology sectors. Episodes can be found via YouTube, Apple, and Spotify.
Experience highlights
- AA v Persons Unknown [2019] EWHC 3556 (Comm) (Comm) (13 December 2019) where, following a ransomware attack, an insurer paid Bitcoin in return for a Canadian hospital’s access to their customers’ data. This case confirmed that Bitcoin and crypto assets broadly were ‘property’ at common law and helped shape much of the law surrounding the status and strategies in freezing and recovering crypto assets around the world. It is highly cited in academic papers and judgments globally.
- Acting for a crypto currency brokerage whereby business functionality was blocked by their service and liquid provider following Court Orders obtained by the Secret Service and which resulted in the return of c.$1m of Tether.
- Obtaining reliefs against North Korean hackers following an exploit of an established crypto address provider and serving documents via Ether NFTs.
- Crypto Open Patent Alliance v Craig Steven Wright [2024] EWHC 1198 (Ch) (20 May 2024), joint proceedings concerning copyright and database claims, as to the identity of the Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto and whether he can exercise intellectual property rights over “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”.
- Tulip Trading Limited (A Seychelles Company) v Bitcoin Association For BSV & Ors: Devising a new strategy for the recovery of (i) private keys, preventing access to billions of pounds worth of Bitcoin, and (ii) other crypto assets worth millions as part of a wider hack.
- Securing private Court Orders against and working with major cryptocurrency exchanges to freeze funds and comply with enforcement provisions following sophisticated investment platform and romance scams.
Publications
NFT Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Connoisseurship and Critique
Decentralised Autonomous Organisations: The Future of Corporate Governance or an Illusion
Bitcoin Magazine: Now That Bitcoin Is Considered Property In The UK, Reclaiming Ransomed Assets Sent To Exchanges Is Much Easier
Financial Times Advisor: We need to treat crypto fraud like any other crime’ – How to Recover Lost Crypto
The Founder’s Guide to UK Crypto Law- Lexis Nexis, Solana’s Super Team and D2 Legal Technology
Can Bitcoin help recover bitcoin?
Posted on: November 6th, 2023 by Yvonne Uzoka
I have been a qualified solicitor since 2011, specialising in the fields of residential and commercial property. My practice encompasses representing a diverse clientele, including buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants in the acquisition and disposal of both commercial and residential property.
Notably, I have had the privilege of representing prominent retail clients in the acquisition of multiple retail units in Central London. These transactions predominantly involve leasehold arrangements with properties acquired from landlords in London, including the Crown Estate Commissioners.
My client portfolio extends to various industries, with successful transactions involving the acquisition and disposition of establishments such as restaurants, nightclubs, golf courses, dry cleaners and various high street shops.
In addition, my services extend to the residential property market, covering a wide spectrum of property types, from high-value transactions to shared ownership agreements and remortgages, involving both freehold and leasehold arrangements.
My practice is underpinned by an extensive understanding of the property market and the unique needs of my clients. I take immense pride in delivering clear, commercially astute advice and unwavering support to my clients.
Experience highlights
- Acting on a £25m refinance of nine supermarkets
- Acting for a client in the sale of three freehold warehouses for a total purchase price of £43m
- Acting on the purchase of a well-known nightclub in central London – satisfying the requirements of the landlords prior to the licence to assign being granted and successfully negotiating the return of the rent deposit
- Acting on the purchase of a £4m freehold warehouse on an industrial estate
- Acting on the purchase of a £6m leasehold apartment in central London
- Acting for a high-net-worth client on the acquisition of several well-known high-end male grooming stores in central London
Posted on: October 23rd, 2023 by Yvonne Uzoka
I am a conscientious and efficient Director and joint Head of the Family team at Lawrence Stephens. I work closely with clients on complex family issues, with a particular interest in Children Act matters, to include cross-border relocation, change of residence applications and internal relocations. I also specialise in completing my own advocacy to ensure a smooth and cohesive process, which results in my clients feeling supported throughout the process.
My experience includes divorce and matrimonial finance work and I have worked with clients through complex matters, including the division of businesses and high-value properties. I pride myself on providing first-class support to clients during challenging times – focusing on their needs as a priority.
I have been ranked as a key lawyer in the Legal 500 (2021, 2023) and Chambers and Partners (2022,2023) legal directories as an ‘Associate to Watch’. I also lecture at Bath Spa University in all areas of law but, with a particular focus on family law.
Outside of work, I am a keen sportsperson having played netball, tennis and hockey to a high level.
Experience highlights
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Acting for a father, where the mother had accused him of sexual assault. The father denied the allegations. Further to a fact finding hearing, whereby no findings were made, the Court ordered for change of residence of the child, into the father’s care, with costs being awarded for the father, to be paid by the mother.
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Acting for a wife in a complex separation of matrimonial finances. The wife was a victim of domestic abuse, having secured a non-molestation order against the husband utilising my services. The wife was awarded an 80/20 split in her favour, with the husband ordered to pay some of the wife’s costs, due to his litigation conduct.
- Acted on behalf of the husband in a landmark reported financial remedies case concerning the provenance of assets and the approach when pre-marital assets had been used as a matrimonial home.
