Wragge & Co's Real Estate group grows with three director appointments

Wragge & Co has expanded its residential housing, real estate development and investment and retail practices with the appointment of three new directors. Julia McNaught, Nisha Jassal and Helen Emmerson have all been appointed to director, taking the total number of directors in the Real Estate group to 11.

Adrian Bland, head of real estate, said, "There is no denying the past 12 months have been a difficult time in the property world. However, positive signs are starting to emerge and clients are turning to their trusted advisers for support and innovative advice. These appointments demonstrate the firm's continued commitment to investing in core practices and strengthening its offering in key growth areas such as housing, retail and energy."

Residential housing specialist Julia McNaught is part of the 17-lawyer Residential Development team. Working closely with market-leading clients such as Persimmon Homes, Westbury Partnerships and Bloor Homes, Julia advises on large, high-value and complex projects involving multiple land uses and parties. Julia has experience in both public sector and private residential development, adding significant capability to the firm's growing housing practice.

A commercial property development and investment expert, Nisha advises UK and international developer and investor clients such as Development Securities PLC, Gresham Real Estate Fund II,L.P. and Castlepoint LP on their major real estate projects. Her in-depth knowledge and experience on a wide range of property matters such as shopping centres, offices and urban regeneration, coupled with her focus on building long-term relationships, allows Nisha to provide commercially astute and innovative advice.

Helen Emmerson joined the firm as a trainee in 1999 and has established herself as an integral part of the firm's real estate retail, leisure and energy practice. Working closely with retailer clients, she consistently provides first-class advice and client service. Helen is also part of the cross-firm energy practice, advising both landowners and energy generators such as E.ON and Partnerships for Renewables on real estate aspects of complex projects.

Wragge & Co's Real Estate group operates across 15 specialist areas, providing clients with a full service across the entire commercial property sector. In the past six months, the firm has advised international property group Goodman on securing £47 million funding for the construction of a 467,891 sq ft regional distribution centre at its Andover Commercial Park, Hampshire. The group's experts have also advised Development Securities PLC on its unconditional acquisition of a 1.5-acre car park site in Hammersmith Grove, London and on the £42 million completion of its 147,000 sq ft CityPark development in Manchester.

Julia, Nisha and Helen join Richard Goold (corporate), Gareth Baker (corporate), Dan Smith (IP – advertising and marketing), Jamie Rowlands (IP), Gus Wood (energy) and Samantha Holland (commercial litigation) as the nine directors Wragge & Co promoted in 2010. The appointments take effect from 1 July.