Matthew is a senior associate in our Real Estate Dispute Resolution team.
Matthew helps clients achieve their objectives in all areas of commercial property litigation, including contentious landlord and tenant work such as business lease renewals, trespass claims, break clause disputes, tenant arrears/insolvency, landlord consents, dilapidations claims, rent reviews and right to manage and service charge disputes.
He also has considerable experience of handling high-value property cases for clients that result in lengthy High Court, Court of Appeal and Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) trials. Matthew also encourages and regularly uses a broad range of alternative dispute resolution processes for his clients, including mediations and expert determinations.
Matthew is recognised as a key lawyer in the Legal 500 2025, noted as being "brilliant" for his expertise in rights of light and dilapidations claims. He is also renowned for his "Good communication throughout, practical and commercial advice" (client testimonial in the Legal 500 2023) and being part of a team which is "always of the highest quality and shows great commercial sensitivity" (Chambers and Partners 2025).
Matthew works closely with the transactional real estate team and has wide experience acting on large-scale development matters, particularly in relation to rights of light, vacant possession strategies, and boundary and party wall issues. Matthew also advises on sale and purchase disputes and has an interest in leasehold reform, with extensive experience dealing with the nuances of mixed-use schemes.
Matthew is also a member of the PLA Law Reform Committee, which monitors new and proposed legislation, lobbies for change in the law where appropriate, responds to consultation papers and liaises with the Judiciary, the Court Service, the Law Commission and other groups such as the Property Bar Association and RICS.
He regularly produces articles and commentary pieces for our Development Notes blog, the Law Society and the Property Law Journal on various real estate and case law developments such as leasehold reform and rights of light/development issues.
Background
Matthew holds a Master of Arts (Law) from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and graduated with First Class honours. He qualified as a solicitor advocate with higher rights of audience in 2016 and is also a member of the Property Litigation Association.
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- British Land: advising on rights of light and various contentious redevelopment issues at Canada Water, Southwark (the largest redevelopment/regeneration project in the UK)
- Royal Mail Group: advising on the extensive £600 million redevelopment of Nine Elms Park, London, comprising eight prime development plots in a high-density residential-led, mixed-use development to be situated within a linear park connecting Vauxhall to Battersea Power Station on the south bank of the Thames
- Bank of Scotland plc: successfully defending a c.£120m claim for alleged breach of good faith terms of lending facilities and alleged forced sale of properties, including securing an order for indemnity costs
Sectors
Services
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