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Dan Cowley

Partner

England & Wales

020 3319 3700

dan.cowley@keystonelaw.co.uk

Dan is a commercial property solicitor who specialises in property development work, acting for landowners and developers. He regularly advises on legal agreements relating to planning, such as conditional contracts, option agreements, promotion agreements, and joint venture agreements.

Dan advises on the management of property portfolios including acquisitions and disposals, with a particular specialism in the education and life sciences sectors.

In addition, Dan frequently acts for landlords and tenants in relation to commercial leases and acts for banks and lenders on securitisation.

Expertise

Dan has extensive experience handling complex property acquisitions and sales, including large-scale assets, science parks, and strategic locations, for a wide range of commercial and institutional clients.

Experience

  • Acted for a developer in the acquisition and then onward sale of a care home.
  • Acted for a social enterprise office provider in the sale of a landmark office building near Old Street station to an international investor for redevelopment purposes with a sale price in excess of £37m.
  • Advised on the purchase of office facilities in Bethnal Green for £13m and then dealt with advice relating to ongoing refurbishment of the premises.
  • Acted for Fluorogenics Limited (a subsidiary of New England Biolabs) on its acquisition of new laboratory premises in Milton Park.
  • Advised Vaxequity Limited, a spinout from Imperial College, on the acquisition of its first laboratory space on Cambridge Science Park.
  • Acted for the University of Oxford in dealing with the first registration of part of its estate earmarked for strategic development.

Dan supports landlords and tenants with lease renewals, surrenders, and ongoing occupancy matters, helping institutions and businesses manage their property rights and obligations effectively.

Experience

  • Acted for Oxford Brookes University in the renewal of a long lease of one of its campuses.
  • Acted for Canterbury Christchurch University in the renewal of office space for administrative staff.
  • Acting for Karus Therapeutics on their exit and surrender of lease at Harwell Science Park.

Dan advises growing companies and institutions in managing, expanding, and rationalising their property portfolios across the UK, with a focus on strategic acquisition and disposal planning.

Experience

  • Acted for a publicly listed pioneering clinical stage T Cell receptor biotechnology company on its acquisition of all its UK-based property interests.
  • Acted for a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company on its acquisition of numerous UK property interests including its Oxfordshire-based research and development facility.

Dan advises schools, colleges, and universities on all aspects of their estates, including acquisitions, leases, and development of new facilities.

Experience

  • Acted for Oxford Brookes University in the renewal of a long lease of one of its campuses.
  • Acted for D’Overbroecks School in acquisition of new premises for the creation of a new arts facility in Oxford.
  • Acted for Oxford International School in the acquisition of new premises for the creation of new laboratory space for its science department.
  • Acted for Canterbury Christchurch University in the renewal of office space for administrative staff.
  • Acted for the University of Oxford in dealing with the first registration of part of its estate earmarked for strategic development.

Dan acts on leasing and acquisition of laboratories, R&D space, and operational facilities across key science and innovation hubs. He also acts for clients in the healthcare sector on acquisition and development of property, including care homes.

Experience

  • Acting for a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company on its acquisition of numerous UK property interests including its Oxfordshire-based research and development facility.
  • Acting for a publicly listed pioneering clinical stage T Cell receptor biotechnology company on its acquisition of all its UK-based property interests.
  • Acting for Fluorogenics Limited (a subsidiary of New England Biolabs) on its acquisition of new laboratory premises in Milton Park.
  • Acting for Karus Therapeutics on their exit and surrender of lease at Harwell Science Park.
  • Advising Vaxequity Limited, a spinout from Imperial College, on the acquisition of its first laboratory space on Cambridge Science Park.
  • Acted for a (now NASDAQ listed) life science company in the acquisition of multiple leasehold property interests at Milton Park, Oxfordshire.
  • Acted for a publicly listed pioneering clinical stage T Cell receptor biotechnology company on its acquisition of all its UK-based property interests.
  • Acted for a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company on its acquisition of numerous UK property interests including its Oxfordshire-based research and development facility.
  • Acting for Leath Park Developments Limited on the site acquisition, development and onward sale of a 65-bed care home to CARE UK in Whitstable.

Dan advises developers and landowners on all aspects of property development, including acquisitions, joint ventures, planning, and disposals, often acting on complex, high-value residential and mixed-use schemes.

Experience

  • Acted for a developer in a joint venture agreement encompassing purchase funding and development for an 87-unit residential scheme in East Kent with a prospective GDV in excess of £30m.
  • Acted for Chartway Group Limited on its acquisition of a 63-unit scheme in Ebbsfleet.
  • Acting for Wedgewood Homes Limited on various development acquisitions including a joint venture with Barwood Capital for the delivery of a 12-unit scheme in Kent.
  • Acted on a joint venture for the acquisition and delivery of an 87-unit scheme in Littlebourne, Kent.
  • Acted for Bouygues UK Limited on the acquisition and delivery of a landmark library archive and affordable housing scheme in East Kent.

Please note: The experience list above may include examples of work completed prior to joining Keystone Law.

Dan qualified as a solicitor in 2005. Prior to joining Keystone Law in 2021, he worked at the following firms:

  • Whitehead Monckton
  • Penningtons Manches Cooper