Chris is a counsel in Reed Smith’s dedicated Corporate Real Estate practice in London. Prior to joining the firm in 2018, Chris was based in the Middle East, where he headed-up the real estate team of a global top tier law firm, and regularly acted on the region’s largest outbound and domestic real estate M&A deals.
He has a diverse real estate practice with a particular focus on: (1) big ticket and/or complex structured, usually cross-border, real estate M&A deals (investments, acquisitions, divestments), both direct and corporate-wrapped; (2) REITs and real estate funds; (3) hospitality and leisure deals, including the acquisition and development of hotels and the negotiation of hotel management and franchise arrangements and operating leases.
In addition to his work on real estate M&A, Chris regularly advises on development deals, real estate finance, landlord and tenant matters, joint ventures, and the real estate aspects of corporate and finance transactions.
Geographically, Chris has wide experience of real estate laws, practices and customs in the UK, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Qatar; and he has also worked on transactions involving assets across the United States, Continental Europe, Africa and the Far East.
His clients include UK and other European, US, Middle Eastern and Far Eastern financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, asset managers, hotel owners and operators, and developers.
