Mathew Ditchburn
Partner Corporate & Finance
Languages
English
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Overview
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Experience
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Credentials
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Insights and events
Chambers UK 2024Mathew is an insolvency specialist and he's at the forefront of that. He is the person to go to for an insolvency-related problem. He is the leader in that area.
Mathew Ditchburn is Hogan Lovells' UK Head of Real Estate and head of the firm's Real Estate Disputes team. He is one of the UK's leading practitioners in property litigation. Working with investors, occupiers and a range of other stakeholders, Mathew helps clients to think laterally and find creative solutions to even the most intractable property disputes.
Contentious issues with real estate are manifold, ranging from protecting the value of your assets to managing the business space you use every day. Mathew's experience spans the full range, having handled disputes arising out of buying and selling real estate, leasing commercial property, secured lending and redevelopment. He is particularly well known for dealing with these matters within the added complexities of an insolvency or distressed real estate scenario, and is one of the true authorities in this area, as well as actions against negligent professionals. He was appointed the firm's UK Head of Real Estate in 2024.
Mathew joined Hogan Lovells in 2002 and was made partner in 2011. He now runs the firm's top ranking (in both the Chambers and Legal 500 UK directories) London real estate disputes team. He is a former chair of the Property Litigation Association, Vice-Chair of the British Property Federation's Insolvency Committee, former Chair of the Joint Insolvency Committee and a member of R3 (the association of insolvency professionals). He is a former Blundell lecturer, a regular press commentator and speaker at industry conferences. In their latest editions, Chambers placed Mathew as a Band 1 practitioner in his field and the Legal 500 named him in their Hall of Fame.
Chambers UK 2024He leads issues cleverly, calmly and consistently… he is wonderful and incredibly hard-working.
Representative experience
Obtaining forfeiture of a 125 year lease of a department store for failure to trade unless liquidators completed a sale within 3 months.
Achieving victory at court for landlords to be reimbursed rental discounts imposed under a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) following the collapse of retailer BHS.
Successfully defending KPMG as liquidators of the Peacocks retail chain against court action by a utilities company for over £1m in unpaid charges.
Winning a landmark case for EY as administrators of the Luminar nightclub group about the payment of rent as an expense of the administration.
Acting for a bank in professional negligence proceedings against solicitors and valuers, securing multi-million pound settlements through mediation.
Scoring a key Court of Appeal victory on EU sanctions to enable a sovereign wealth fund to enforce a €12.5m property loan through bankruptcy proceedings.
Securing permission to forfeit the leases of five retail park units in High Court litigation against the administrators of a nationwide retail chain.
Representing landlords in leading reported cases concerning the New Look and Regis UK CVA challenges.
In a ground-breaking case, forming an ad hoc group of NCP’s landlords and acting for them in successfully opposing the company’s restructuring plan.
Acting for the institutional landlord owner of an Oxford Street flagship store in successful proceedings against the former tenant’s guarantor to recover £5m in unpaid rent.
Credentials
- Inns of Court School of Law, London
- The University of Nottingham
- Property Litigation Association
- Associate Member of R3 (Association of Insolvency Professionals)
- Joint Insolvency Committee