Biography
Chris is a Partner at the Firm and Head of the Property team at PWW. He specialises in advising charities on all aspects of property law, including buying and selling property, landlord and tenant matters, license agreements, trusts and unregistered land, development work, restrictive covenants, easements and holding property as an investment. He has extensive experience of dealing with property issues in relation to places of worship, including listed buildings.
Chris also advises schools, small businesses and individuals in property matters such as residential conveyancing, commercial leases, assured shorthold tenancies and probate sales.
Chris was ranked as a leading associate in the charities and not-for-profit practice area in the 2025 edition of the Legal 500, with clients describing him as “efficient, approachable and knowledgeable. He is also ranked as an associate to watch in the 2025 edition of Chambers and Partners.
Recent Experience
- Advising the trustees of an independent school in Wales on financial and constitutional arrangements, as well as the sale of land and setting up a residential care facility.
- Advising a cricket club on issues relating to their conversion to a CIC, including transfer of land and existing grant agreements.
- Advising a religious charity on the sale of a former school site.
- Advising a religious order on the property aspects of an investigation by the Charity Commission, including complex first registration applications involving multiple charitable trusts.
- Advising the trustees of a school on a lease of sports facilities to another charity.
- Advising the trustees of a religious charity on the sale of two former convents.
- Advising the trustees of a church in London on issues relating to potential breach of lease covenants by an existing tenant.
- Assisting the Church and Charities team with the property aspects of various CIO conversions for unincorporated charitable trusts
Employment History
- Pothecary Witham Weld inc. Haslam & Payne Solicitors 2016 – present
- Dentons 2013 – 2016
- Slaughter and May 2012 – 2013
- Pinsent Masons 2011 – 2012
Education
- BPP Law School, LPC 2011
- Manchester Metropolitan University, GDL 2010
- University of Manchester, MA (Hons) Politics & Modern History 2008
Memberships
- Charity Law Association
- Property Section of The Law Society
- City of Westminster and Holborn Law Society
Personal
Chris is a Trustee of a grant making charity.