Willans LLP has appointed a new partner to its commercial property team, development expert Thornton Allen.
Thornton joins Willans from BPE, where he was head of residential property development. Prior to that he managed a team of around 40 plot sales specialists as head of development at Davies & Partners.
Thornton has a wealth of experience in development land matters, and in particular provides specialist advice to residential, retirement village and solar farm developers. He is highly experienced in areas such as site acquisition and disposal, site assembly, joint venture agreements, overage and plot sales.
Managing partner, Bridget Redmond, commented
“Thornton is a highly-regarded practitioner in his field. He has an exceptional depth of knowledge of the residential development industry; we are delighted to have him on board, and know that clients will appreciate and value his first-class, commercially-focused advice.”
Thornton added
“Willans has an outstanding reputation for property law, and I am delighted to join as a partner. I look forward to meeting a wide range of new clients and providing them with commercially-focused solutions and practical advice.”
Thornton will be presenting a seminar to law students at the University of Gloucestershire in November, as part of Willans’ ongoing partnership with the university’s law school. The collaboration so far has involved mentoring, coaching and delivering lectures.
News of Thornton’s appointment comes as the firm’s commercial property team secured strong rankings in the latest editions of The Legal 500 and Chambers UK. Willans’ commercial property practice was one of many departments to recently retain strong rankings in the latest editions of the national independent guides, with a number of its lawyers receiving individual commendations. The firm is noted for its “great breadth of expertise” in the latest edition of The Legal 500, with a client quote praising the commercial property team for its “competence in completing the assigned tasks, and good communication skills”.