James Ayliffe QC

Property CV

James has wide experience of real property and landlord and tenant matters. 

He has a particular expertise in property-related insolvency matters.  He is co-author of Transaction Avoidance in Insolvency (2^nd ed, OUP, 2011) and also edits the insolvency chapter of Hill & Redman's Law of Landlord & Tenant. 

He is recommended for property/real estate litigation in both The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. 

Some recent representative cases include:-

• acting for vendor in claim for specific performance of contract for sale of multi-million pound factory premises raising complex issues as to s 2 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989;.
• acting for guarantor of tenant seeking vesting order in respect of commercial lease following insolvency of tenant so as to mitigate against on-going losses of £2.5m pa;
• advising landlords of retail premises with insolvent chain stores as tenants in relation to their entitlement to payment of rent as an expense of the tenants' administration and potential challenges to the Goldacre decision;
• advising residents of luxury development regarding wide-ranging dispute with developer/freeholder;
• acting for purchaser of London property seeking to advising Halliwells' landlord regarding issues arising out of the insolvency of its tenant;
• acting for well-known car dealership on complex claim for recovery of valuable leasehold land following dissolution of tenant company and disclaimer of lease;
• acting for trustees in dispute regarding priority of competing interests in £28m warehouse premises (Dominion Trustees v Capmark Bank Europe [2011] 26 EG 86);
• advising owner of valuable advertising sites regarding status and priority of its rights;
• acting for vendor in dispute regarding enforceability of contract for sale of development property in west London (Best Beat v Mourant & Co [2009] PLSCS 1);
• acting for one of principal protagonists in dispute regarding operation and effect of s 28 Land Registration Act 2002 (Halifax & anor v Curry Popeck & another [2009] 1 P&CR 7);
• acting for well-known house-builder on multi-million pound dispute regarding enforceability of overage provisions in contract for sale of development property;
• advising London borough regarding easements in connection with the multi-million pound development of awell-known London landmark;
• acting for charity in dispute over ownership of valuable land involving issues of adverse possession and estoppel.