Wragge & Co expands real estate practice with director appointments

Wragge & Co LLP has strengthened the firm's social housing, real estate finance and property litigation capabilities. Jacqueline Knox, Robin Pearson and Alison Hardy have all been appointed to director. These appointments take the total number of directors in the Real Estate group to 11.

Adrian Bland, head of real estate, said: "We continue to position ourselves for the real estate upturn and to invest for the medium to long-term. These appointments reflect the breadth and depth of our full service offering to real estate clients."

Social housing specialist Jacqueline Knox is part of the 19-lawyer Planning and Regeneration team. Previously a solicitor at Birmingham City Council, she joined the firm in 2004 as an associate. With expertise in the social housing and public sector, Jacqueline works extensively with registered social landlords such as Sanctuary Housing Group and Bournville Village Trust, and local authorities including the London Borough of Croydon and Wolverhampton City Council.

Robin Pearson is a property finance expert, providing banking and finance advice to both UK and international clients. With a particular emphasis on finance for investment and development, Robin works closely with members of the real estate practice on high-value and large-scale transactions for a number of UK and foreign banks and other financial institutions. Robin's promotion adds significant capability to the firm's Property Finance and Tax team.

Alison Hardy is part of the firm's Property Litigation team and a key component in developing the practice's London offering. Formerly with Clifford Chance, Alison has developed strong relationships with real estate clients such as JP Morgan, Ballymore and Global Switch. An experienced property litigator, Alison will play a significant role in developing the firm's property litigation practice.

Wragge & Co's Real Estate group is the firm's largest practice. Operating across 15 specialist areas, it offers a full service across the entire real estate sector. In the past six months, its experts have advised Persimmon Homes on a £60 million contract to provide up to 500 affordable homes to a consortium of four registered social landlords, as well as advising Kuwaiti-based developer Salhia Real Estate Company to secure the green light for its £150 million Beorma Quarter development in Digbeth.

Jacqueline, Robin and Alison join Verity Chase as four directors promoted in 2009 in the key growth areas of commercial, real estate tax, property litigation and social housing. The appointments take effect from 1 July.