Clare is a Partner in the Property Litigation team.
Clare advises commercial landlords and tenants on a range of contentious property matters, including lease renewals, lease exits, lease breaks, service charge disputes, rent recovery, forfeiture, dilapidations and sub-tenant repair liabilities. She is experienced in resolving disputes around renewals, rights of occupation for tenants with questionable status, enforcement of lease covenants, privity claims following lease assignment, trespass by adjoining property owners and lease disclaimer following tenant insolvency.
Clare also advises residential landlords and tenants on disputes arising out of long leases, including rent arrears and possession claims, rights of enfranchisement, service charge disputes and related management issues referable to the First-Tier Tribunal Property Chamber.
In addition, she advises agricultural landowners on the termination of agricultural tenancies for farm managers and agricultural workers.
Clare’s clients include well-known retailers Arcadia Group, Body Shop, Moss Bros, Mothercare and The Early Learning Centre, McDonald’s, Oxfam, privately owned property and investment group Topland, fund specialists Rockspring Property Investment Managers and a number of business park owners.
Recent examples of how Clare has supported clients include:
- compelling our client’s landlord to enforce restrictive covenants which obliged a neighbouring tenant to stop restricting access to trade premises by changing their parking habits and delivery schedule;
- facilitating the relocation of a client’s headquarters by terminating their head lease, together with two sub-leases and ten licences, to ensure vacant possession;
- guiding a national retailer through the settlement of a large dilapidations claim which arose several years after they vacated a leasehold property and for which they had shared liability due to a series of sub-leases; and
- negotiating the disclaimer of a lease with the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of a national retailer whose sub-tenant had collapsed into insolvency and left the retailer exposed to significant rent and rates liability.