Sharon Ayres

A corporate lawyer specialising in structuring complex real estate projects. Our real estate clients are increasingly looking at more sophisticated ways of acquiring, developing and investing in real estate assets both here and overseas.

Tel: +44 (0)121 685 2836

Email: sharon_ayres@wragge.com

Best brains in ...

International corporate acquisitions, divestements and joint ventures, with a particular focus on real estate funds and structuring.

Highlight of your career so far?

Earlier this year I completed a $1.2 billion project - that included the disposal of a real estate fund that I had formed three years earlier. I had worked almost on a daily basis on that fund over the three period - actively and sometimes frantically involved in each transaction that added growth and value. It was very rewarding to be a part of that success and know that you helped to make it happen.

Most challenging job you've ever done?

Working on two deals at the same time that happened to be at opposite ends of the globe (Australia and Los Angeles) - the time differences meant that as emails and calls finished on one project, they started on the next; it really was 24/7!

What about outside the UK?

I have advised on international corporate projects for the last 12 years - and in the last ten years almost exclusively so. I have now completed projects that have involved over 30 to 40 different jurisdictions (including most European countries, Australia, Malaysia, South Africa, India, Ukraine, Russia and numerous states in the USA). I love the added dimension that a new jurisdiction brings to a project. It keeps you on your toes!

What's your definition of going the extra mile?

It involves getting under the skin of the client - understanding its business so that you can focus upon what really matters in the documentation and add those extra clauses that specifically capture their concerns.

Best example of a creative legal solution?

I have found that it is often something very simple that can save the day - suggesting an inter-company loan rather than share subscription enabled one of my projects to complete when a Luxembourg notary refused to turn up to the completion meeting to allow the planned share subscription to take place.

What's been written or said about you that you're most proud of?

One of my Polish clients recently sent a text after we had managed to pull together and agree a number of documents for a project in the Ukraine against a very tight time scale: 'Sharon u are my hero - know how to make things happen. Love to work with u.'