Flint Bishop has announced the recruitment of the entire real estate team from national law firm Freeths’ Derby office. Janet Rhodes, Sam Shepherd, and Louise Calow, together with two legal assistants have all joined the firm’s commercial property department, making it one of the largest Real Estate teams in the Midlands.
Rhodes, formerly the Head of Freeths’ Derby real estate practice, assumes the role of partner and will lead Flint Bishop’s now 18-strong commercial property team.
With a career spanning over 25 years in the real estate industry, Rhodes brings a wealth of experience and a successful track record representing a diverse range of high-profile clients. Her body of work includes handling multi-million-pound property funding for various portfolios, acting on behalf of both local and national clients and corporates. She has also overseen significant commercial and industrial projects such as care homes, pub company groups, and industrial estates.
Shepherd, who steps up from director to partner, is recognised as a highly skilled real estate law practitioner with extensive experience in handling a wide range of property matters, including option agreements, acquisitions, leases, disposals, funding, sub-sales, infrastructure agreements, and collaboration agreements. Her expertise lies in commercial development, with a particular focus on brownfield urban development sites.
Calow joins Flint Bishop as a senior associate, bringing extensive experience in commercial and residential acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant matters, re-finance/banking, and general property affairs. Notably, she was appointed as Honorary Legal Advisor to the Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust in 2019, showcasing her commitment to supporting and preserving the architectural heritage of the region.
Among their notable achievements includes overseeing a complex private rented sector (PRS) development in Manchester, involving land assembly matters, infrastructure, and forward funding, with an estimated gross development value (GDV) exceeding £120m, the £18m acquisition of a care home portfolio and £9m acquisition on behalf of a national bingo operator.
Commenting on joining Flint Bishop, Rhodes said: “I am thrilled, along with Sam and Louise, to be joining Flint Bishop at such an exciting time, with the flagship new office having recently been opened and on the back of such a successful last financial year. I am really looking forward to working with such a highly accomplished team of real estate lawyers and support staff and building on the breadth of impressive work, team experience, and client base that Flint Bishop has already established.”
Qamer Ghafoor, Chief Executive of Flint Bishop, added: “We are delighted to welcome Janet, Sam, and Louise to our firm. These strategic hires represent a major coup for Flint Bishop, significantly enhancing our capabilities and establishing a stronger presence in the real estate sector. The recent wave of senior-level appointments underscores our commitment to providing exceptional legal services to our ever-increasing client base and further cements Flint Bishop’s position as a leading force in the Midlands region.”
