Melanie Benson > Harbottle & Lewis LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile

Harbottle & Lewis LLP Offices

Harbottle & Lewis LLP
7 Savoy Court
LONDON
WC2R 0EX
England
Visit website 020 7667 5000 020 7667 5100

Melanie Benson

Melanie Benson photo
020 7667 5000 melanie.benson@harbottle.com View profile View profile

Work Department

Property and Retail & Fashion

Position

Melanie leads the Property Group and deals with all aspects of real estate specialising in high end residential for both resident and offshore clients. She acts for a number of well-known individuals and family offices, often working closely with the firm’s Private Capital and Reputation Protection teams.

Melanie deals with Landlord and Tenant matters, acting mainly for occupiers in the retail and fashion/luxury brands, restaurants, cinema, theatre, media and digital/tech sectors. The matters are often complex involving multiple parties and commercial elements.

She also Co-Heads the firm’s Retail & Fashion Group where she advises clients on all aspects of their bricks and mortar property requirements from acquisitions of flagship stores to management of store portfolios country wide and including within centres and outlets such as Westfield and Bicester Village. She also acquires head office premises for retail/fashion and Tech clients and has assisted in major architecture designed fit outs of both retail and office premises.

Her clients include LW Theatres/Really Useful Group, Gordon Ramsay. Victoria Beckham Limited, Roland Mouret, Wolford, Network Homes Ltd, Kobalt Music Group, Empire Holding/Arch Light Cinemas (at Battersea Power Station) and ultra-high net worth individuals.

Career

  • Greenhouse Stirton & Co; trained and qualified 1999; assistant 1999-2000
  • Harbottle & Lewis associate 2000-2004; senior associate 2004-12; partner June 2012 to date

Memberships

Law Society

Education

  • Skipton Girls High School
  • Queen Mary, London (LLB 2(1))
  • London College of Law LPC (commendation)

Lawyer Rankings

London > Real estate > Commercial property: corporate occupiers

(Leading individuals)

Melanie Benson –Harbottle & Lewis LLP

Harbottle & Lewis LLP regularly works with corporate occupiers in the hospitality, office and retail sectors. Praised as ‘extremely knowledgeable and pragmatic’, Melanie Benson leads the team and is adept in landlord and tenant mandates, while Leo Marino’s key strengths lie in ancillary leases, as well as business leases and renewals.

London > Real estate > Residential property

The property group at Harbottle & Lewis LLP acts for wealthy and high profile individuals on sales, purchases (including related mortgage work), as well as leasehold management and enfranchisement matters. Under the leadership of Melanie Benson, the group works closely too with its private capital and tax teams on a range of tax and trust planning matters. Caroline Roberjot is another key figure who specialises in prime and super prime residential property and country estates.

London > Industry focus > Retail and consumer

Harbottle & Lewis LLP’s retail and fashion practice has a multi-disciplinary offering stretching across both contentious and non-contentious matters. Melanie Benson and Sandi Simons jointly lead the team; the former advises luxury brands and designers on the full range of bricks and mortar property requirements, while the latter helms the contentious side, acting on a broad range of commercial disputes for clients in the sector, with particular expertise in disputes concerning commercial agent regulations.

Lawyer Rankings

Top Tier Firm Rankings

Firm Rankings