Steven Eccles

Senior Associate
Commercial Litigation

Steve is a specialist property litigator and advises clients from across all of the firm's Divisions on actual and anticipated property related problems.

One of his main clients sums him up by saying: "Whilst Steve obviously has a very good grasp of property law, he also displays great commercial acumen, an understanding of our business and the costs pressures we face. He enjoys doing the work we give him and he blends professionalism with a sense of the absurd (that not all lawyers have), and this makes him great to work with."

My Background
Trained and qualified at Bevan Ashford, Associate May 2004. Bevan Brittan LLP, Associate November 2004 - April 2008, Senior Associate May 2008 -.

What I do
I help clients solve their property-related problems as quickly, painlessly and cost-effectively as possible. The firm's diverse client base means that I act for public and private sector clients, for landowners and occupiers, for landlords and tenants, and for buyers and sellers of land and so my practice enables me to see things from all angles. This means that in any particular case, I am able to bring my experience to bear to help my client achieve its overall objectives in the most effective manner possible.

Much of my work involves risk management for clients, to minimise the potential for disputes to arise. However, where a dispute cannot be avoided, I believe there is no 'one size fits all' approach, and I take a pragmatic and commercial approach to resolving disputes having regard to the merits of the client's case and the client's wishes and concerns. Whilst the importance of resolving disputes early cannot be overstated, where appropriate I pursue my client's interests robustly and I have recently resolved disputes through arbitration, mediation and expert determination as well as through litigation.

I have particular expertise in the law of landlord and tenant and in those areas of property law which are of particular interest and concern to development clients, such as rights of way, rights of light and restrictive covenants.

Some examples
I recently defended and settled a number of rights of light disputes for a large regional housebuilder in order to protect its ability to construct its new flagship HQ building.

I advised a global pharmaceuticals company over a 12 month period on managing the process of breaking its lease in order to achieve its objective of rationalising its property portfolio, achieving a rent saving of £6.5m by doing so.

I provide regular and ongoing advice to one of the country's largest telecommunications operators on landlord and tenant and other estate management issues concerning its national mast estate.

I recently helped a Midlands-based Primary Care Trust to broker an exit from its leases of office premises for £20,000 where the landlord was looking to hold the Trust to the leases, and in doing so I helped save in excess of £500,000 on rent and other outgoings for the premises which it would otherwise have had to pay.

I have a particular specialism in obtaining vacant possession from tenants of large sites, such as hospitals, in order to free them up for re-development (e.g. through PFI projects) or sale.

I have successfully brought and defended injunction claims in respect of breaches of easements and restrictive covenants in order to preserve or prevent the re-development of land.

Contact me via steven.eccles@bevanbrittan.com or on 0870 194 8933.