William Chung is a Managing Associate in our Construction Group within our Commercial Real Estate team specialising in non-contentious matters. He acts principally for developers, property owners and institutional funders on major commercial real estate developments.
In addition to advising on the full range of construction documentation, William also advises his clients on procurement strategy, risk allocation and interface issues on projects spanning across the build-to-rent, purpose-built student accommodation, life sciences, office and hotel sectors. His approach is multi-disciplinary, working closely with client teams and colleagues specialising in commercial real estate, planning and development finance given his regular involvement on high value projects requiring cross-practice expertise.
William has particular experience in advising on the construction aspects of project agreements such as development agreements, funding agreements and agreements for lease, especially in identifying alignment issues and risk gaps against the underlying legal construction documentation.
William has experience working in Hong Kong and Shanghai as well as valuable in-house experience at the London flagship store of a chain of high-end department stores. He has also published in "Construction News" and "Construction Management" and recently spoke about mitigating financial risks in modular construction at the 2024 edition of the leading industry conference event, "Modular Matters".
Key Experience
- Watkin Jones PLC on development and construction aspects regarding the £155 million forwarding funding of the Loft Lines project in Belfast which involves the delivery of 778 sustainable homes (comprising 627 BTR units and 151 affordable homes) and public realm spaces to be funded by Legal & General – this is the first build-to-rent scheme and the largest ever private sector investment into housing in Northern Ireland.
- CPP Investments on its joint venture and contracting arrangements with Lendlease for the phased development of office schemes at The International Quarter, London.
- A Real Estate Asset Fund on its development of major life sciences campus focused around the "Golden Triangle", namely its forward-funding (and associated pre-let) of the UK's first purpose-built CAR T-cell manufacturing facility at Stevenage totalling 81,000 sq. ft.
- A Real Estate Asset Fund on its £240 million acquisition of a 12,000 square meter office building acting as the London HQ of a social media company. The building was procured under construction management and constructed via multiple trade packages and has since achieved the highest certifications for sustainability, wellbeing and digital connectivity.
- Watkin Jones PLC on the development and construction aspects in relation to the forward funding of its student accommodation scheme at Gas Lane, Bristol where the implications of the then-recently-enacted Building Safety Act and its associated transitional arrangements had to be considered.
- PBSA developer Metropolitan District Securities on the forward funding and development of Huntingdon Street, Nottingham and the former Leeds City College Technology campus site, into new student accommodation complexes.
- Brookfield Properties on the negotiation of construction contracts in connection with various office refurbishment and asset management works carried out across its UK property portfolio,
- Brookgate on procurement strategy and negotiation of construction contracts in relation to several forward fundings for office accommodation totalling in excess of 500,000 square feet and a 4-star Novotel hotel as part of the master plan redevelopment of Cambridge North and the Station Road area of Cambridge.
- Lloyds and China CITIC as joint lead arrangers of a £475 million facility for CC Land and R&F Properties' Nine Elms development joint venture to finance the construction of their mixed used One Thames City development – one of the London market's largest ever residential development financings.
- United Overseas Bank on a £160 million debt facility to finance Phase 2 of the Lewisham Gateway development, the second element of a major mixed-use scheme in South London.
- Brookfield Properties on the construction aspects and pre-letting of 100 Bishopsgate, a forty storey mixed-use commercial development which contains 900,000 sq ft of net lettable space, and London Wall Place, two statement office buildings totalling 500,000 sq ft.
- A joint venture between Goldman Sachs and Urbanwise Developments on the redevelopment (and related acquisition and financing) of the Grade II listed former Southwark Fire Station to a 1150 pupil secondary school along with 199 residential homes and local community facilities.
- Advising Ocado on the project development arrangements for new automated distribution facilities in Japan and advising on a number of contracts for the procurement of technology, plant and equipment for warehousing and automated distribution systems across its customer fulfilment centres in the UK.
- Logicor across its UK logistics portfolio on procurement strategy, risk allocation, negotiation of a construction contacts and consultant appointments.
Career History
Managing Associate, Mishcon de Reya LLP
Senior Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP
Associate, Taylor Wessing LLP
Trainee Solicitor, Taylor Wessing LLP
BPP Law School, Legal Practice Course
BPP Law School, Graduate Diploma in Law
School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) History
Articles and Publications
Mitigating financial risks in modular construction, Construction News