Simon Massey

Simon advises on all aspects of commercial real estate investment and development, including acquisitions, disposals, forward funding, sale and leasebacks, and strategic property matters for pension funds, developers, and investors.

• Acted for Prudential/M & G Plc in multiple site acquisitions and disposals and all aspects of transactional portfolio asset management.
• Led the project team in the £26.6m acquisition of 85 Gracechurch Street, London, by a global institutional investor.
• Advised JV Partner in the acquisition and refinancing of a £100m+ storage and distribution portfolio comprising multiple properties.
• Acted for a listed property company in the £14.1m disposal of Switch Island Leisure Park, Liverpool.
• Advised a multinational logistics and distribution company in the acquisition and funding of four brownfield sites in the Midlands from BlackRock UK.
• Advised a global food flavourings business on the purchase and re-development of Denington Road, Wellingborough.
• Advised a major investor/developer on the £23.6m acquisition of St Marks Place Shopping Centre.
• Acted on the purchase (conditional on planning) of a mixed-use scheme, including structuring the development, partial disposals, and developer exit.
• Advised a Swedish global automotive business on its premises acquisition for its UK trading arm at Silverstone Business Park.
• Advised an automotive and mechanical engineering business in its acquisition of industrial and storage premises at Stansted Airport.

Simon is experienced in complex landlord and tenant matters, lease negotiations, portfolio management, and strategic support for corporate occupiers on relocations, consolidations, and lease re-gears across multiple sectors.

• Advised tenants on City office leases, including agreements for lease, rent deposit deeds, and licences to alter.
• Acted for landlords on Midtown office lettings, drafting leases, side letters, rent review memoranda, and licences to assign and underlet.
• Advised corporate occupiers on London headquarters relocations, negotiating agreements for lease, conditionality, fit-out licences, and completion mechanics.
• Acted for landlords on lease renewals under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 for City and Midtown commercial office premises.
• Advised tenants on lease re-gears, surrender documentation, and deeds of variation for central London office buildings.
• Supported landlords on multi-floor office lettings, including heads of terms, agreements for lease, completion documentation, and post-completion registrations.
• Advised tenants on break options, dilapidations strategy, and settlement agreements relating to City and Midtown office leases.
• Acted for FTSE 100 corporate occupier as tenant of a 72,000 square foot City-based head office in the agreement for lease with development obligations, NIA measurement tolerances, lease, licence for alterations, and rent deposit deed.
• Acted for multiple family offices in landlord portfolio management covering all aspects of landlord and tenant management.
• Advised an AIM listed telecoms company in its new head office lease involving collar and cap rent review and CPI-linked capped service charge.
• Acted for a home counties-based advertising and PR company in its expansion-led office relocation to Central London offices involving a back-to-back agreement for surrender and agreement for lease dovetailing with an incoming tenant of the former premises and exiting tenant of the new premises.
• Advised an East Asia-based bank in its City-based new branch office lease of Grade A offices, circa 8,800 square feet.

Simon has over 20 years’ experience specialising in the charities and not-for-profit sector, advising on real estate investment and development, acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant law, secured lending, and real estate aspects of corporate transactions (mergers, de-mergers, acquisitions, and disposals).

• Acted in the joint venture development of an £8M medical research centre and a £4.5M PET-CT scanning centre involving an NHS Trust and a significant cancer charity.
• Advised a major ecclesiastical charity in the conditional disposal and re-development of a London-based Baptist church.
• Acted for a regional hospice charity in the day-to-day asset management of its retail property portfolio.
• Acted for York St John University in the 232-room student accommodation re-development of Grays Wharf, York.
• Acted for the MS Society in the grant, surrender and re-gear of leases of residential care settings and retail outlets.