Rob Harrison

Senior Associate
Property, Planning and Construction

I specialise in complex public private partnerships – with a particular emphasis in Health PPP schemes such as NHS LIFT having a significant national profile in this area of work. I also head up the Property Finance team in Bristol and I’m currently the client relationship manager for one of our key clients, the Welsh Assembly Government.

Background

I joined Bevan Brittan (then Bevan Ashford) in 2000 as a trainee and qualified in 2002. I was then made Senior Associate in 2008. Before Bevan Brittan I spent seven years in civil service at the Department of Health and Social Security and prior to that in local government.

What I do

I specialise in national complex property based Public/Private projects, with particular expertise in novel or innovative structures, for which I have advised both the public and private sectors including the Welsh Assembly Government and the governmental organisation, Community Health Partnerships. I have been involved in 22 NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) schemes. LIFT involves the setting up of a development company, part owned by the private sector and public sector, delivering new health and social care facilities through an exclusivity arrangement. I have focused on leading teams acting for private sector parties and lenders in such schemes. I have been involved in drafting a number of the standard proforma documents in Education (BSF), Health (NHS LIFT) and Office space (WISP). Using this experience I acted for the Welsh Assembly Governmane setting up the Welsh Investment Strategic Partnership. I am now acting for the Northern Ireland Assembly setting up a framework to deliver new healthcare facilities in Northern Ireland.

I also head up the Bristol Property Finance Team acting for lenders on traditional acquisition and property development finance schemes – this includes acting for Housing Associations on large scale refinancing.

I lecture twice a year at Henry Stewart Conferences on Conditional Contracts, Options and Overage.

Some examples:

•     Acting for a number of lenders including RBS, Bank of Ireland and Clydesdale on development property finance transactions.

•     Leading on the £54 million Colchester and Tendring NHS LIFT scheme acting for Land Securities. Also leading on the £115 million (in the first five years) Leeds NHS LIFT scheme acting for Norwich Union. This scheme has now closed 3 tranches with a total loan exceeding £75 million

•     Leading a team acting for the Welsh Assembly Government in respect of an innovative partnering arrangement with the private sector to deliver upwards of £200 million of office and business accommodation.

•     Advising the Welsh Assembly Government on the ECM2 development in Port Talbot. One option includes the procurement of the scheme through a PPP arrangement based on the documentation used under the WISP initiative.

•     Advising various public and private sector bodies on an Estate Strategy whereby all retained estate is transferred to a private sector party under a PPP joint venture arrangement and the batching together of new development sites

•     Acting on a substantial land transfer of a redundant hospital site in Surrey to an investor involving conditionality and clawback provisions.

•     Rob continues to handle other pure property matters including larger scale property disposals and acquisitions that include: advising on CPO related issues, overage, clawback, conditional contracts and complex title queries.

Contact me via rob.harrison@bevanbrittan.com or on 0870 194 8989.