Browne Jacobson acquires business of real estate practitioner Paul Taylor Solicitors
UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson is pleased to announce that it has acquired the business of Paul Taylor, a sole practitioner based in Exeter specialising in the real estate and retail sector, trading as Paul Taylor Solicitors.
Paul Taylor is a renowned character in the South West legal industry, with a wealth of experience and a strong reputation. He has been the sole real estate advisor to entrepreneur Chris Dawson and his flagship store group, The Range, for over 25 years, seeing the seismic growth of the retailer from five stores (when he was first instructed) to over 200 now.
With Paul Taylor entering into a Consultancy Agreement with Browne Jacobson, the acquisition bolsters the firm’s growing Exeter presence and its real estate offering in the South West legal market.
Since opening its first South West office in 2012, Browne Jacobson has expanded its sector and practice expertise by adding education, health, government, real estate and employment, alongside its already established financial services and insurance practice. The firm relocated its Exeter office to Keble House in Southernhay Gardens in May 2023 as a part of its growth strategy in the South West, and this is another example of its commitment to making an impact in the region.
Paul Taylor said:
“I am delighted to be joining forces with Sarah Parkinson and the Browne Jacobson real estate team in order that their range of resources and skills will be available to my clients and will match their needs. I was attracted by the fact that their legal acumen is allied to a distinctive character and ethos which sets them apart from a lot of other firms out there! I know that The Range will appreciate having the Browne Jacobson team onboard and, as one of the fastest growing retailers in the UK (recently acquiring the Wilko brand), we are expecting to be kept very busy. I am also looking forward to working with Nigel Lyons and the Browne Jacobson team in the Exeter office and am excited about the opportunities that this move will bring.”
Sarah Parkinson, national Head of Real Estate at Browne Jacobson and a retail sector specialist said:
“Paul has a fantastic reputation not just in the retail sector but in the South West region as well. We are particularly excited that Paul has acted for The Range as a client for over 25 years, which is a testament to his expertise and the quality of his work and client service. We are so pleased that he has decided to partner with us and we’re already enjoying working with him!”
Nigel Lyons, Partner and Head of the Exeter office at Browne Jacobson, said:
“This acquisition is a real boon for our South West offering, expanding our client portfolio both across the region and nationally, and a landmark in our continued growth. We’re thrilled to work with Paul in developing our practice further.”
Contact
Discover more
Related expertise
You may be interested in...
Legal Update
Navigating the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023: Implications for retailers with vacant premises
Opinion
Power for local authorities to conduct compulsory rental auctions of vacant high street properties to come into force next month
Press Release
Browne Jacobson to lead discussions on the future of real estate and infrastructure at this year’s UKREiiF 2024 event
Press Release
Browne Jacobson acquires business of real estate practitioner Paul Taylor Solicitors
Legal Update
COP28 - how to limit and prepare for future climate change
Podcast
The real estate podcast: How AI and tech is changing real estate
Legal Update
How to negotiate better ‘green’ provisions in your leases
Opinion
The Metaverse's influence on real estate: Implications for commercial retail clients and law firms
Legal Update
Utilising prime retail sites to improve the health of our nation
Opinion
Supreme court rules on retail tenant's service charge bill
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s retail lawyers advise Wilko on its strategic £48m sale and leaseback of Nottinghamshire distribution centre to DHL
Opinion
Rent arrears post-Covid: What are the landlord’s options?
Since the beginning of the pandemic, landlords and tenants have experienced significant limitations in the way rent arrears could be pursued. We first saw the moratorium on the recovery of Covid related arrears, and more recently we’ve experienced the implementation of the Covid arrears arbitration scheme.
Published Article
RAAC planks and its impact on local authorities
Recent reports of flat roofs constructed using RAAC planks collapsing without warning prompted the SCOSS alert.
Opinion - Building Safety Act
Building Safety Bill amendments
Legal Update
W (No.3) GP (Nominee A ) Ltd and another v J D Sports Fashion Plc (Nottingham County Court, 22 October 2021)
The County Court refuses the landlord’s request to include a turnover rent in a statutory lease renewal.
Opinion
Covid-19 rent arrears – the questions that remain
The Government appears set to announce plans on ‘living with Covid to restore freedom’. With the success of the retail and hospitality sector key to recovery, what protections will be on offer to tenants to deal with Covid-19 rent arrears?
Legal Update
Macey v Pizza Express (Restaurants) Ltd [2021] EWHC 2847 (Ch)
A landlord did not demonstrate the requisite intention required to oppose a statutory lease renewal underground (g).
Legal Update
Stonecrest Marble Ltd v Shepherds Bush Housing Association Ltd [2021] EWHC 2621 (Ch)
Where a lease provides a comprehensive scheme of repair and insurance, the court will not imply terms to cover any gaps in that scheme.
Legal Update
Capitol Park Leeds Plc and another v Global Radio Services Ltd [2021] EWCA Civ 995
A tenant who handed back an empty shell of a building had complied with a condition of its break option to give vacant possession of the property.
Legal Update
Presenting a winding up petition to recover pandemic rent arrears
The government has now published new regulations to replace the winding up restrictions mentioned above from 1 October 2021. The key point of interest from a landlord and tenant perspective is that these new regulations will prevent a landlord from presenting a winding up petition to recover rent until 31 March 2022 where the sums are unpaid by the tenant because of the financial effect of the pandemic.
Legal Update
The government’s plans for dealing with Covid-19 rent arrears – some more details emerge
Last week, the government published a policy statement to deal with rent arrears accrued during the pandemic for those businesses affected by the pandemic.
Published Article
Correcting a mistake in an retail prices index rent review clause
A court will not alter an unambiguous contractual term merely because it is unduly favourable to one party, imprudent or unreasonable or because it provides for one party to pay too high a price for something. However, a court can correct the literal meaning of a contractual provision by construction if it is clear both that a mistake has been made and what the provision was intended to say.
Opinion
Handing back an empty shell of a building did not prevent a tenant from exercising a break clause
Break rights have proved a fertile source of litigation over the last few years. More often than not, tenants have found themselves on the wrong end of the decisions. However, a Court of Appeal decision yesterday has bucked that trend.
Legal Update
Restrictions on landlords’ remedies extended again and extra protection to be given to certain businesses
The delay in the full easing of lockdown restrictions and the knock on effect for certain tenants (particularly those in the hospitality and entertainment industry) has clearly caused a change of heart and the government has now announced a further extension of the restrictions.
Opinion
Commercial landlord and tenant: Ban on evictions extended
Stephen Barclay the Chief Secretary to the Treasury has today announced that the ban on commercial evictions is to be extended to 25 March 2022.
Opinion
Relief for landlords as the Court of Appeal confirms that leases have been validly contracted out
One of the requirements for tenants to contract out of the security of tenure regime contained in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 is that they make a simple or statutory declaration before entering into the lease.
Opinion
Summary judgment stayed where part 26A restructuring plan pending
Landlords should reconsider summary judgment if a Part 26A restructuring plan is pending.
Opinion
Landlords’ claims for summary judgment for ‘Covid’ rent arrears succeed (again)
A landlord’s claim for summary judgment to recover rent and service charge arrears accrued since the start of the pandemic against a non-essential retailer succeeded. Like London buses, a second such case has followed hot on its heels.
Opinion
The High Court offers no comfort for beleaguered retailers
Whilst this decision may not be surprising, it will undoubtedly send a chill down the spine of retailers in a similar position to The Fragrance Shop.
Legal Update
Commercial rents and Covid-19: Call for evidence
The government announced that it would be launching a call for evidence to help monitor the overall progress of negotiations between landlords and tenants for paying or writing off outstanding rents. This call for evidence has now been published.
Legal Update
Tenant protections extended again
The government was extending to 31 March 2021 the various tenant protections it has brought in since the pandemic began. However, that announcement of course pre-dated the current lockdown and it will come as a surprise to no-one that, despite this, the protections have been extended again until 30 June 2021.
Legal Update
Break notices for commercial tenants – beware of the common pitfalls
Due to numerous recent issues affecting the property market more and more break notices are being served by commercial tenants. At the same time, more and more tenants are seeking break rights in their new leases in order to provide them with flexibility when it comes to their real estate.
Opinion
Service charges – the bad news keeps coming for tenants!
A few months ago, we discussed a case where the Court of Appeal ruled that the wording of a lease precluded the tenant from arguing that certain costs should not have been included in the service charge calculation. A recent high-profile case concerns a broadly similar issue, this time in relation to the proportion of the landlord’s costs payable by a tenant.
Legal Update
Sara & Hossein Asset Holding Ltd v Blacks Outdoor Retail Ltd [2020] EWCA Civ 1521
A landlord’s service charge certificate was conclusive as to the sums payable by a tenant under a lease.
Legal Update
Tenant protections extended (yet) again
The government was extending to 31 December 2020 the various tenant protections it has brought in since the pandemic began. Perhaps not surprisingly, those protections have now been extended again until 31 March 2021.
Opinion
A landlord’s service charge certificate was conclusive as to the sums payable by a tenant under a lease
The Court of Appeal has ruled that the wording of a service charge clause precluded a tenant from challenging the sums claimed by a landlord.
Opinion
Handing back an empty shell of a building did not fulfil a vacant possession break condition
Break rights have proved a fertile source of litigation over the last few years. Courts have consistently required strict compliance with the terms of those rights.
Legal Update
Update on tenant protections
We reported that the Government was extending to 30 September 2020 the various tenant protections it has brought in since the pandemic began. Perhaps not surprisingly, those protections have now been extended again until 31 December 2020.
Legal Update
Government extends tenant protections and introduces new code of practice
On 19 June 2020, the Government announced that it was extending the various tenant protections it has brought in over the last few months and, at the same time, published a new voluntary code of practice to provide clarity for businesses when discussing rental payments and to encourage best practice so that all parties are supported.
Legal Update
A landlord’s remedies to recover arrears of rent – where are we now?
The Corporate Governance and Insolvency Bill provides detail on the new measures to safeguard the high street against aggressive debt recovery actions during coronavirus.