Kirsty Corkum

With over twenty five years’ experience in the real estate sector, I provide legal advice to developers, investors, landlords and tenants of UK property. I have worked extensively on high value, mixed use, leisure/hotel and office urban development projects.

I coordinate specialist planning, litigation and construction lawyers and work collaboratively with other real estate consultants to deliver a holistic legal service which anticipates the drivers/requirements of funders, purchasers/occupiers and other stakeholders and so as to achieve project completion - without unwelcome surprises.

I love working as part of the development and transactional team; it is this integration which enables me to forecast upcoming pinch points and provide timely and innovative solutions. It delivers the job satisfaction of creating - with others – place making destinations.

I work with UK developers/ investors and also have acted for many international organisations; exploring with them their domestic expectations so that I can reconcile these with UK practice and guide them through the idiosyncrasies of the UK market.

• The acquisition of Whiteleys Shopping Centre by corporate vehicle for Meyer Bergman (now known as Mark) and its ongoing redevelopment into a prime residential, leisure and retail destination; navigating significant development constraints and third party issues and advising on scheme structuring and penthouse sales.

• Advising a Far East investor on the acquisition of a prime residential and mixed use development site in West London with particular focus on the deliverability of the approved planning scheme in the light of the material development constraints.

• Acting for Middle Eastern investors buying standing investments and development sites with and without acquisition financing.

• Advising on development management agreements for both owners and development managers with complex profit share arrangements for major developments in the UK.

• Acting for a global investment bank the purchase of a corporate vehicle owning a London midtown building which completed the assembly of a development site destined to become their EMEA HQ. I acted on the subsequent redevelopment; obtaining multiple releases of rights of light from adjoining owners.

• Advising on the negotiation and variation of rent sharing long leases with the City of London and other institutions.

• Acting on forward funding of office and hotel developments for Aviva and other UK institutions and funds.

• Advising a US real estate fund on their redevelopment, pre-letting and refinancing of their London office portfolio comprising 5 multi million pound buildings.

• Acting for Canary Wharf on the pre-letting and re-gearing of major office lettings at the Wharf.

• Advising Great Portland Estates on the acquisition of development sites with and without planning, their development and letting; selling the completed income producing investment to institutional and international buyers.

• Advising Singaporean investors on the acquisition of office and retail investments of £260m and £160m respectively.