Gateley Legal has bolstered its specialist residential development team in Birmingham with the appointment of Thornton Allen as legal director. Allen joins from BPE Solicitors and brings extensive experience in assisting regional housebuilders and landowners with matters including acquisitions and plot sales. He has specialised in retirement living developments for more than 10 years and will help strengthen Gateley Legal's later living offering to service the retirement homes sector.
He has also worked on collaboration and consortium agreements for large-scale schemes as well as strategic land matters. In addition, he has participated on the investment panel for the South West Regional Infrastructure Fund as one of two private sector members alongside local government, the regional development agency and Homes England. The investment panel oversaw the funding of major infrastructure projects required to facilitate or pump-prime residential development sites in the South West.
Commenting on his role, Allen said: "I'm delighted to be joining Gateley Legal. The size and depth of its residential development team is outstanding, and I'm looking forward to getting involved with the great schemes they work on. It's fantastic to be taking on a role where I can expand my knowledge and experience within the retirement living sector, as well as with residential housebuilders and developers."
Callum Nuttall, partner and national head of the residential development team at Gateley Legal, said: "Thornton will make a great addition to our specialist residential development team in Birmingham. He brings with him a wealth of experience of the retirement living development sector which will be a great boost for our later living offering across the Midlands and beyond.
"Our impressive residential development team acts for 18 of the top 20 housebuilders in the UK, on either a regional or national level, and we are one of the few legal businesses in the country with a separate housebuilder team specialising in services for residential developers. In addition to this, we have created an ‘under one roof' offering to service the latest needs of the UK property market."
Gateley Legal's national residential development team operates from offices located in Birmingham, Guildford, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham and Reading, and includes 22 partners and 250 legal professionals.