Katy is a Partner in the Property Litigation team.
With over 24 years’ experience, Katy supports both owners and occupiers on all contentious property matters.
For occupiers, her expertise focuses on supporting our retail clients to manage their portfolios on all property related issues, including 1954 Act lease renewals, break options, exit management, dilapidations, rent reviews, and possession. She also has experience of assisting clients with large property portfolios through restructuring processes, pre, during, and post such organisational restructures.
Katy also advises property owners, investors, and developers with the asset management of their real estate holdings to swiftly and efficiently deal with any contentious issues that arise. Her clients range from SMEs to institutional landlords.
Her specialism is dealing with complex landlord and tenant matters. She provides commercial advice on strategy and risk management issues, with a particular emphasis on redevelopment of business premises. Katy’s practice also encompasses property related development disputes, forfeiture, trespass and possession claims, title disputes, rights of way, exclusivity agreements and restrictive covenants.
She is known for her commercially minded and resolution driven approach to resolving property disputes, while protecting the value of client’s assets. She works closely with her clients to understand their priorities and risks and deliver the appropriate solution.
Notable clients include Accessorize, Day Lewis Plc, Frasers Property, McDonald’s Restaurants, MEPC Plc, Monsoon, Moss Bros, Oxford Colleges, Specsavers and The Body Shop.
Examples of how Katy has supported clients include:
- Successfully challenging in the High Court a landlord’s use of the Landlord and Tenant 1954 Act to recover possession - McDonald’s Restaurants Limited v Shirayama Shokusan Company Limited [2024] EWCH (Ch)
- Dealing with complex Landlord and Tenant 1954 Act opposed lease renewals to achieve the client’s commercial aims in terms of managing exits for both landlord and tenants;
- Successfully pursuing specific performance of a development of a mixed-use project in East London; and
- Successfully establishing in the High Court that there was no right of way through our client’s industrial estate for the public to access Great Tew Estate - Leven Holdings Limited v Johnston and others [2018] EWHC 223 (CH).