Ed John

Ed advises on property disputes across a range of sectors, including real estate, construction, and hospitality, providing guidance on contractual claims, landlord and tenant disputes, through litigation and alternative dispute resolution.

• Acted for the developer of prime real estate in the West End of London in a multimillion-pound completion claim.
• Acted for a major landed estate in a multimillion-pound dispute regarding restrictive covenants.
• Forfeited three leases of a major co-working provider in the City of London and defended the associated proceedings.
• Obtaining possession of premises from those with diplomatic immunity and from members of a foreign royal family.
• Undertaken arbitration of a contested completion and handover of a mixed-use development in Battersea.
• Dealt with issues related to development including: utility relocation, stopping-up orders, rights of light, party walls, interference with easements, adverse possession, prescriptive easements, and restrictive covenants.
• Dealt with and settled via deed of release complex rights of lights claims for the rooftop airspace development of a new medical facility in Islington.
• Undertaken numerous mediations of commercial and residential property disputes.
• Dealing with telecoms disputes under the Electronic Communications Code, including contested applications code agreements, applications for interim agreements, termination and removal of code apparatus as well as “lift and shift” notices and agreements.

Ed advises property owners, occupiers, developers, and investors on real estate and asset management, including complex developments and projects.

• Advised a leading co-living brand on its management and consultancy arrangements for a new-build co-living development in central London.
• Acted for one of the world’s largest tech companies, giving strategic and asset-management advice for its UK business continuity and data centre real estate portfolio.
• Acted for the developer of one of the UK’s largest mixed-use developments on the charging scheme for its combined heat and power scheme.
• Dealt with development and management issues relating to a West Country retail park and a West Midlands industrial and logistics park, including licences to assign, underlet, dilapidations, and rent reviews.
• Dealt with residential leaseholder management issues such as service charge recovery, Section 20 consultations, and Section 20ZA dispensations, determinations of reasonableness, and enforcement.
• Dealt with Right to Manage applications and disputes.
• Advised a vegan food manufacturer on downsizing operations, exercise of break rights, and moving/downscaling operations.
• Advised a resident-owned landlord in Surrey Quays on alterations to rights of access for security reasons and the effect of easements and rights of way.

Ed advises non-UK based inward investment clients on real estate acquisition, financing, development, and management.

• Acted for a Spanish-based property fund on the management of its retail and industrial portfolio.
• Acted for a German pension fund dealing with the management of landlord and tenant matters and refinance for its landmark City of London office building.
• Acted for a Japanese family office on the proposed redevelopment of leisure investment premises in Soho.
• Acted for the Italian owner of residential investment properties in the West End of London.
• Acted for a trust established for members of a foreign royal family in the management and enforcement of rights in respect of property held principally in London.
• Acted for a Greek family office in respect of their UK property portfolio.

Ed advises developers and property companies on property disputes, including building defects, fire safety issues, possession actions, and management and consultancy disputes.

• Defended the developer and landlord in the leading High Court case in relation to defective ACM cladding, Kingspan K15 insulation, and cavity barriers.
• Acted for the developer on a dispute over fire-safety-related building defects and agreeing new terms for sale using a building regulations functional compliance assessment by an IFE-registered fire engineer.
• Acted for the developer of a 168-key, five-star landmark central London hotel in its dispute with the fund which purchased the hotel.
• Advised a leading co-living brand on its management and consultancy arrangements for a new-build co-living development in central London.
• Dealt with a suite of issues for an airspace development in Wembley, including the removal of electronic communications apparatus and negotiating the release of rights of light.
• Acted for a FTSE100 property company in obtaining vacant possession of a south London former retail site for development as a mixed-use residential/commercial development; a vacant site was achieved six months ahead of schedule and 50% under budget.
• Acted for the developer of one of the UK’s largest mixed-use developments on the charging scheme for its combined heat and power scheme.
• Acted for a developer in its application for deemed adoption of a wastewater pumping station and rising main under Section 102 of the Water Industry Act 1991 and associated appeal under Section 105.
• Acting for a landlord of a residential block successfully claiming against the new homes warranty provider for a full-scale refit of a building with numerous fire-and life-safety-related defects.
• Dealing with the removal of telecom masts under the Electronic Communications Code from industrial premises in Bristol, including an application for an interim agreement and associated termination of existing code agreements.
• Dealing with contested and uncontested lease renewals under Part II of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.

Ed is a recognised expert in the hospitality sector, having acted for or against almost every global hospitality brand. He advises operators and investors on acquisition, finance, development, management, and restructuring of hospitality assets.

• Acted for the funder in a dispute between the funder and developer of a central London hotel where the main contractor suddenly became insolvent.
• Advised the investor in a non-FCA-regulated fractional hotel ownership scheme on termination of the sale contract and recouping its investment.
• Represented a sovereign wealth fund in the acquisition by sale-and-manage-back of a landmark London hotel for £400m.
• Advised on the joint venture and management/franchising suite of documentation for a 13-hotel JV agreement with a major brand and white-label operator.
• Advised a UK clearing bank on enforcement by appointment of LPA receivers on two large UK hotels and exercise of power of sale by auction.
• Advised a UK bank in its capacity as lead lender on enforcement options of a multimillion-dollar syndicated loan facility secured against an international chain of hotels.
• Provided due diligence on a suite of hotel franchising and management documentation for a major German bank’s property finance arm proposing to refinance the owner of a large hotel chain in Europe.
• Advised on the proposed redevelopment of a former cinema into a mixed-use dance-led leisure facility.
• Advised on the Sound Lounge lease renewal proposed redevelopment of the Sound Lounge premises at 216-220 High St, Sutton, as part of the Elm Grove regeneration project.
• Advised the owner of Marlborough Sports Garden in Southwark on the £5m regeneration and construction of a new building on site.

Ed advises retail clients on portfolio acquisitions and real estate disputes including possession proceedings, debt actions, and forfeiture claims.

• Acted for six major retail landlords in a multimillion-pound claim involving a dispute over a retailer’s security of tenure.
• Advised on the due diligence for the acquisition of a portfolio of London shopping centres and the post-acquisition strategy for optimising the tenant mix.
• Advised on enforcement against travellers occupying a retail car park, obtaining an urgent High Court possession order and enforcing removal within 48 hours.
• Acted for the Metro Shopping Fund in the first reported case in which a landlord obtained the court’s permission for the landlord to forfeit following a pre-pack sale of the insolvent business by administrators (Metro Nominees (Wandsworth) (No. 1) Limited and Others v K Rayment & Others [2008] BCC 40).
• Advised a European Fund on the active management of a retail and leisure portfolio including landlord and tenant issues, forfeiture, redevelopment, insolvency, and associated work.

Ed advises clients in the agricultural and rural affairs sector on tenancy disputes, nuisance actions, rights across farmland, and development of agricultural estates.

• Advised a group of farmers in Hoddesdon on the collective sale of their land to a housing developer.
• Advised on the termination of an agricultural tenancy in Herefordshire.
• Advised on a nuisance claim for run-off from a farm across a newly built estate.
• Advised on numerous telecoms code agreements on agricultural land.
• Advised on disputes relating to electricity, water and telecoms wayleaves and relocation across agricultural land.
• Acted for a major landed estate in a multimillion-pound dispute regarding restrictive covenants.

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Real Estate: Property Litigation 2023–2026

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Construction 2024

Recognised by The Legal 500 for Hospitality & Leisure 2021