Expertise

Andy heads up the London Construction team and regularly leads cross-disciplinary teams on substantial development finance and project finance deals. Andy has particular expertise in acting for PPP's, joint venture partners, equity funders, senior lenders investors and developers across a number of sectors. He is at the forefront of structure and strategy and leads on joint venture arrangements, development and funding agreements as well as other project documents, construction contracts, major projects contracts, and partnering projects. Andy also advises on methods of procurement, standardisation and contractor incentivisation schemes and take particular pride in trying to broker solutions to alleviate entrenched negotiations. 

Andy is a specialist in all aspects of social infrastructure including: student accommodation, housing and regeneration and health schemes and has acted for a number of developers, investors, contractors and house builders including: Bougyes Developments, Mount Anvil, Balfour Beatty Investments, Multiplex, Vinci, Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle, University Partnership Programme, Pension Corporation Limited, Guy's and St Thomas' Trust, Building Better Health, Notting Hill Genesis, Watkin Jones, Rocket Investments, Galliard and McLaren Construction as well as a number of funders and occupiers such as Sainsbury's, Aviva, Pramerica, Barclays Bank, Lloyds Bank, HSBC, Volkswagen, Primark and Travelodge on a significant number of high value complex social infrastructure schemes in the past few years.

Andy also heads the Student Sector focus for the firm, sits on the Housing Sector committee and is leading the firm's focus on 5G, Connectivity and Community Hubs.

In terms of recent experience Andy has:

• Acted for UPP for nearly 20 years on virtually all of their student accommodation schemes which involve complex procurement, structuring, financing, land, and construction for approximately 20 years and helping them design build operate and maintain c35,000 rooms of student accommodation as well as numerous academic and social facilities such as lecture halls, student unions, offices, cafes, restaurants, bars nightclubs. The capital expenditure for each of their deals ranges from £75m - £500m and includes new builds, refurbishment and estate transfers. UPP transactions are complex in their structuring and often include a joint venture element with the University partner – examples of some of UPP's University partners include University of London (which includes nearly 20 associated colleges including Kings College, University College London and LSE) and the Universities of Exeter, York, Reading, Nottingham, Kent, Hull and Swansea
• Acting for GSTT in relation to the strategic planning surrounding the £6billion pound proposals to redevelop the Guys and St Thomas sites including considering a number of mixed-use towers interfacing with their clinical needs as well as joint venture arrangements with Kings College London – the master plan is to develop and create a world renowned teaching and medical facility to include new hospitals, laboratories, teaching facilities, outpatient facilities, and student and key worker accommodation. The first project is for c£200m and includes the extension to the Evelina Children's hospital to create (amongst other things) a new cardiovascular unit
• Acting for Bouygues Developments student arm Ulving on a JV with John Laing in relation to an off-balance sheet demand risk student accommodation transaction involving the development of over 800 rooms of student accommodation in 5 towers plus some academic space, a student union and a Gym.
• Acted for PGIM (part of Pramerica US) on the mezzanine funding and preferred equity for over c2500 rooms of student accommodation in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds as well as a hotel scheme in Stratford for a circa £160m project to develop a 285 key hotel with Hilton, 136 apart hotel with Adagio and three floors of retail and a 51 storey residential tower for a c£150m PRS scheme.
• Acted for Watkin Jones & Sons for a number of years in relation to a number of their student accommodation and housing projects including most recently a c£70m development of c900 rooms of student accommodation for Cranfield University
• Acting for Pension Insurance Corporation helping them establish their equity platform and real assets business including a £160m development and forward funding scheme in partnership with Muse Development of c600 private for rent units in Manchester.
• Acted for Mount Anvil on most of their high value complex residential towers schemes in central London over the past 8 years including advising on some mixed use elements and joint venture arrangements with affordable housing providers (e.g. A2 Dominion, Peabody and L&Q).  Currently advising Mount Anvil on a central London scheme involving three complicated phases, relocation of the Bakerloo line extension, a master plan for wider regeneration in the local area and the development of a superstore to unlock further parcels of land.  
• Acted for Rocket Investments on their £250m development of a 40 storey residential tower (with retail on the ground floor) and a 10 storey office block with a pre-let to WeWork on City Road in Central London.  Again, this scheme involved complex phasing arrangements on a tight site and multiple interested parties including 3 mezzanine funders, who were ultimately refinanced out, and a club of three senior funders.  
• Acting for Aviva in relation to a £250m contractual joint venture with a house builder to develop PRS Houses in the North of England in various geographical tranches.
• Advised CCURV LLP (Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle, a joint venture between John Laing and Croydon Council on a 20 year plan to regenerate Croydon through various development and joint venture schemes, including Taberner House.
• Acting as the global construction and development adviser for Associated British Foods for many years across their diverse range of companies including British Sugar, Primark, Twinings, Jordans Ryvita, Allied Bakeries, AB Mauri, AB Agri, Illovo, George Weston Foods and others on many of their construction, engineering, development and manufacturing projects in multiple jurisdictions.