James is the national head of Shoosmiths’ real estate Development Group and co-leads the firm’s Mobility, Logistics and Manufacturing sector. A real estate lawyer specialising in commercial development, funding and strategic land, James acts for developers and funders in forward funded pre-let developments and on the preparation, servicing and phased disposal of strategic development sites.

James leads key relationships with developers in the industrial and logistics sector, and has a wealth of expertise gained in acting on large-scale strategic schemes involving both residential and commercial elements – often covering land assembly, promotion, servicing and phased disposal – with all the legal and practical complexities they involve.

James's recent experience includes:

  • Acting for Stoford on the assembly of an urban promotion site in Digbeth centred around the repurposing of Typhoo’s historic production and distribution plant, together with the pre-let and forward funding of the first phase of that scheme to create new studios and offices for BBC West Midlands.
  • Advising Stoford on the acquisition, pre-let and forward funding of a 650,000 square foot distribution centre for Pets at Home in Stafford, sold for £98m to an institutional pension fund on a forward funding basis.  
  • Acting for Nurton Developments on all real estate matters relating to Branston Locks, a major multi-use urban extension to Burton-on-Trent, including the initial land purchase, site set-up, infrastructure creation and phased disposal of serviced residential development parcels to national housebuilders. James also advised on delivery of the first 500,000 square feet of employment development, funded by US-based investors.
  • Advising Feldberg Capital on the development aspects of its JV with HBD, created using £100m of seed properties. The new platform is aiming for £1bn in developments over the next seven years. 
  • Advising a private investment company on securing a long-term option and promotion agreement for a 400 acre strategic development site in Staffordshire, which was sold in 2024 for the delivery of over 2,000 homes.

Insights

Read the latest articles and commentary from Shoosmiths or you can explore our full insights library.