Saji Bratch > Ward Hadaway LLP > Newcastle upon Tyne, England > Lawyer Profile

Her extensive experience includes advising public bodies on the acquisition, disposal and management of sites and portfolios, complex regeneration and development work, landlord and tenant matters, including option agreements and overage and secured lending, as well as sales of dental and GP practices.

She has worked on many LIFT, PFI and PPP transactions. These have included regeneration agency PPP schemes; schools, waste and housing schemes for Local Authorities; hospitals, primary and leisure/library facilities; and police, fire and ambulance stations.

Saji has:

• Recently acted for a new provider in a re-procurement of mental health services by a CCG.
• Acted for an Ambulance Trust on a disposal of site, involving overage, which did subsequently yield the Trust a payment of over £300K.
• Advised NHS Trusts on community assets, defects in title and resolving.
• Acted for both PCTs as commissioners and for providers in the Transforming Community Services transactions which involved staff transfer to newly created community interest companies and granting of leases of facilities needed for health services.
• Acted for NHS Trusts in the sale of surplus sites e.g. to a house builder with various conditions to deal with site conditions and works to benefit the Trust’s adjoining site.
• Recently acted for an NHS Trust on the acquisition and development of a new £12m in-patient mental health facility.
• Acted for a fire authority on the development of innovative emergency training facilities and on a colocation development for fire, police, ambulance and mountain rescue services.

Saji has acted for both public and private sector clients, in the Education sector on schemes for Academies, Colleges, Universities, Local Education Partnerships and Local Authorities.

She has worked with various parties involved in schools converting to foundations, trusts, academies and set up of free schools including colleges sponsoring new academies and free schools.

In particular, Saji has worked with several Multi-Academy Trusts on set up and subsequently as new schools have converted into the Trusts (where the sponsors include Church of England Dioceses, schools, colleges spanning many phases and types of academy including Church, primary, secondary and co-operative academies and on schemes involving PFI arrangements and multi academy and umbrella trust arrangements).

Saji has also acted for Foundation Trusts where the schools are converting into the Multi-Academy Trust and therefore has experience of both perspectives.

She is able to develop excellent relationships with all parties involved and recently was described by a head teacher as “phenomenal” where the head teacher “couldn’t give any higher praise”.