Shining a light on our Pro Bono practice

During this, the season of giving, we wanted to shine a light on some of the fantastic charitable organisations that we've worked with this year as part of our pro-bono practice.  Our work involves assisting charities with advice and transactional support on real estate matters and below are three examples of the work that we've done and the charities we're proud to give our time to.

Steel Warriors

The London Corporate Real Estate team has advised longstanding pro bono client Steel Warriors, a charity dedicated to reducing knife crime in the UK, on its partnership with Gymshark, a UK-based activewear brand.

Steel Warriors has been a pro-bono client of the firm since December 2018. It empowers young people to succeed and fosters stronger, safer and better-connected communities. It achieves this by taking knives off the street, melting down the steel and using this to build outdoor calisthenic training centres. The street workouts transform the lives of young people affected by crime, violence and social exclusion, giving them the skills and confidence to create positive futures. The training centres in London's Tower Hamlets, Lambeth and Finsbury Park are open to the public and Steel Warriors use them to run regular training sessions and competitions.

The partnership with Gymshark includes funding for Steel Warriors, as well as a range of co-branded clothing with the sale proceeds going to the charity. A permanent Steel Warriors-branded calisthenics structure has also been built in Gymshark's flagship store on Regent Street, London.

This partnership took over a year to document and marks the start of hopefully a long-lasting relationship between the two companies that will transform the Steel Warriors future ambition (of outdoor calisthenic gyms nationwide) into reality. 

Ruby Plumb (an associate in the Corporate Real Estate group) and Paul Chases (Head of Corporate Real Estate) led the team acting for Steel Warriors with Ruby commenting:

"Being a part of the negotiation and documentation of the collaboration between Gymshark and Steel Warriors has been a real career highlight. Gymshark have been an amazing organisation to work with from start to finish and I'm excited to see how Steel Warriors can grow their incredible initiatives with the support of this partnership.”

Missenden Walled Garden

Missenden Walled Garden CIO is an award-winning charity empowering adults with autism and learning disabilities to transform their lives through Social Therapeutic Horticulture and community engagement.  The charity has regenerated the vegetable garden and orchard at Missenden Abbey, growing vegetables and fruit which, since 2019, have been used in the Abbey kitchens for meal preparation.

Sarah Lockwood, a senior associate in the Real Estate team commented:

"We assisted Missenden Walled Garden when it took its original lease of a 10 acre site at Missenden Abbey, and more recently helped the charity secure a renewal lease from its landlord, Buckinghamshire New University. The new lease helped to unlock significant additional grant funding for Missenden Walled Garden from the HS2 Community and Environment Fund – this funding will provide much needed new greenhouses for the charity to continue with its important work."

Toynbee Hall Housing Law Clinic

To date, our Toynbee Hall housing law clinic has advised 95 clients, including 18 households dealing with disrepair issues such as damp, mould, and structural concerns. By helping these individuals understand their rights and advocate for necessary repairs, the clinic has played a crucial role in ensuring that they have access to safe and habitable homes.

Additionally, the clinic has supported over 20 tenants threatened with eviction, providing them with essential information about their legal rights and the eviction process. In many cases, the clinic has identified defective eviction notices, provided advice to prevent unlawful evictions and as a result given tenants more time to plan their next steps and find new accommodation. This support has been instrumental in safeguarding the housing stability of individuals and families, who are often contending with a raft of other challenges, including mental ill health and financial difficulties.

Come back tomorrow to hear from three members of our team about their "first" HSF Christmas.