Sectors
We serve a large variety of industry sectors, offering experienced advice tailored to your needs
Charities
Our Services
Comptons provides a full range of advice and support for our charity clients. We understand the challenges you face and will work with you to establish your charitable trust and maximise your opportunities.
We have provided advice to our charity clients on the following:
- Governance
- Creation of new charities
- Disposal of land and assets
Given our expertise as a full service law firm, we can also advise you on:
- Duties and responsibilities of Trustees / Directors
- Charity law
- Company law
- Regulation
- Compliance
Education
Our Services
Our clients include multi-academy trusts, national charities, charitable trusts, Roman Catholic Dioceses, diocesan trusts, as well as Church of England Diocese. Our lawyers advise on issues including academy conversion, employment, property, governance, disputes, commercial and construction projects within the education environment.
We specialise in the following areas:
- Academies
- School support
- Schools of religious character
- Independent schools
- School partnerships
- School buildings
- Higher and further education
Private Wealth
Our Services
Comptons provide private wealth services for individuals, families, internationals, business owners and family businesses.
Our aim is to make sure you achieve your objectives in managing, growing and protecting your wealth for the future. It is important to form a longstanding relationship with you advising across all aspects of private client legislation and wealth management.
Our lawyers bring in experts from across the firm to achieve all of our clients’ personal and business aims.
We specialise in the following areas:
- Contentious estates
- Contentious trusts
- Dispute resolution
- Family and divorce issues
- Real estate for individuals, investment and international investors
- Tax advice and planning
- Trusts
- Wills, probate and estate planning
Property Management
Our Services
For decades our expert lawyers have acted regularly for leaseholder owned freehold companies (following collective freehold purchases or right to manage claims), third party landlords and management companies in relation to all aspects of property management and have published articles on the subject.
Our clients include luxury prime central London blocks, large estates comprising multiple buildings and smaller outside town conversions.
We provide you with transactional services such as:
- Licences to Alter
- Licences to Assign
- Deeds of Covenant
- Notices of assignment and charge
- Certificates for Land Registry registration
- Replies to LPE Enquiries
We also advise on contentious issues such as:
- Service charge and ground rent recovery
- Forfeiture
- Breach of covenant
- Major works and section 20 consultation
- Interpretation of lease including service charge provisions
- Lease variations and extensions
We have a sophisticated case management software and employ in-house coders to develop bespoke work flows and precedent documents for you to enable the smooth operation and running of your files.
We also takes pride in our unique expertise in advising property companies on company law whether this be director decision making and duties, director appointment and removal, amendments to articles, share allotment or buy back of shares.
We know managing property is challenging and we will lead you safely through your matter whatever the service you require using minimal fuss and plain English.
Who to speak to at Comptons
James Compton
Partner and Head of Enfranchisement
+44 (0)20 7482 9513
jc@comptons.co.uk
Sarah Jennings
Partner
+44 (0)20 3869 4464
sarahj@comptons.co.uk
Real Estate Projects
Our Services
We are proud to have one of the leading legal teams in England to guide clients through large real estate projects often involving significant numbers of leasehold flats.
Recent examples of successful real estate projects include:
- Acting for an overseas company intermediate landlord in administration to vary ground rents in relation to a large portfolio of leasehold properties in Manchester with a local authority freeholder.
- Acting for various resident owed freehold companies with respect to schemes to transfer value from the freehold to the flats through the grant of lease extensions to the shareholder/leaseholders together with dividend pay-outs and specialist tax advice, notably for approximately 150 flats in London, Limehouse and 250 flats in Manchester.
- Acting for a resident property company and 45 shareholders in respect of an acquisition by way of collective enfranchisement under the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 of a freehold estate in the heart of Chelsea. The matter strayed outside the context of a standard enfranchisement requiring expert advice on setting up a group structure, incorporation of an investment company and ancillary loan agreements so as to raise finance for the project.
- Acting for a leasehold owned freehold company to vary leases under Part IV of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 for a large estate in North London.
- Advice on three separate matters for (1) a registered provider (2) a group of leaseholders and (3) a nominee purchaser following a 1993 Act enfranchisement with respect to the proposed development of the roof tops and airspace of their buildings.
In delivering the projects to our clients we are proud of our use of innovation and technology. We have invested in a powerful case management system and if the project demands it we will build a specific work flow on our system using our firm’s in-house coders. Pro forma documents will be created with a bespoke task list to ensure the project runs smoothly and efficiently. This improves the efficiency of our service, incorporates safeguards as to the legal precedents and polices deadlines accurately.
Whatever your project Comptons have the necessary technical ability, industry knowledge, experience and systems to lead you safely through the law, delivering the results efficiently and cost effectively.
Who to speak to at Comptons
James Compton
Partner and Head of Enfranchisement
+44 (0)20 7482 9513
jc@comptons.co.uk
Sarah Jennings
Partner
+44 (0)20 3869 4464
sarahj@comptons.co.uk
Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
Our Services
Our office has been situated in the heart of Camden Town since 1987. Being surrounded by numerous shops, hotels, bars and restaurants, we have built significant experience over the decades in advising clients in the retail, hospitality and leisure industry.
We understand your business and its pressures so we can offer informed, accurate and reliable advice on the way forward.
Whether you are looking for advice on buying or selling commercial property, are in a dispute with another business or want to sell or purchase a shop, hotel, public house, restaurant or other leisure-related business, we have the requisite expertise you need to lead you safely through your matter.
SME Business
Our Services
Did you know that the majority of UK businesses are classified as small to medium enterprise (SME)?
A company is small if it satisfies at least two of the following criteria:
- a turnover of not more than £2.8 million
- a balance sheet total of not more than £1.4 million
- not more than 50 employees
A company is small if it satisfies at least two of the following criteria:
- a turnover of not more than £11.2 million
- a balance sheet total of not more than £5.6 million
- not more than 250 employees
Comptons is in fact an SME. We therefore fully understand the culture, outlook, issues and problems faced by similar sized businesses.
The type of businesses our clients operate include:
- Real estate ownership, investment and development
- Property management
- Architects
- Employment agencies
- Car franchises
- Other law firms
- Vehicle recovery
- Film and TV Catering
- Digital agencies
Given that many of our clients are of a similar position in their respective markets, we are perfectly placed to lead them on issues within the context of their business, such as:
- Employment law
- commercial property law
- commercial & company law
- intellectual property
- dispute resolution
Whatever your business our lawyers have the necessary technical ability, experience and knowledge to lead you through safely, delivering the results efficiently and cost effectively.
Who to speak to at Comptons
Martin Barrett
Partner
+44 (0)20 7482 9508
meb@comptons.co.uk
James Compton
Partner and Head of Enfranchisement
+44 (0)20 7482 9513
jc@comptons.co.uk
Nicholas Goldreich
Partner
+44 (0)20 7482 9513
ng@comptons.co.uk
Social Housing and Local Authority
Our Services
Comptons acts on behalf of local authorities and registered providers. Our lawyers have expert knowledge regarding the specific requirements and demands encountered within these sectors.
Examples of matters we have acted in include:
- contentious issues such as enforcing the terms of the Trust against its members
- a complex property project involving a social housing trust’s ongoing management of an estate in North London undergoing significant roof top development
- governance advice to a registered provider on the role of its directors, members and alterations to the provider’s constitution
- advice to London local authority on a development to increase their social housing stock
- advice to local authority on their obligations under trusts of land
- advice to a local authority on contracts
Our lawyers also regularly provide real estate advice to leaseholders whose landlord is a local authority or social housing trust on matters such as staircasing shared ownership flats and lease extensions. Knowing the requirements and demands of local authorities and social housing trust enables us to advise our leaseholder clients accurately on the ongoing management of their case within the context of this particular industry.
Whatever your matter Comptons have the necessary technical ability, industry knowledge, experience and systems to lead you safely through the law, delivering the results efficiently and cost effectively.
Who to speak to at Comptons
Martin Barrett
Partner
+44 (0)20 7482 9508
meb@comptons.co.uk
James Compton
Partner and Head of Enfranchisement
+44 (0)20 7482 9513
jc@comptons.co.uk
Keeping you up-to-date with the latest...
News & Insights
Could Buying a Home Finally Get Faster? The Government’s Plans to Reform Conveyancing
Anyone who has bought or sold a property in England will probably recognise the frustration. An offer is accepted. Everyone is delighted. And then… everybody waits. The Government believes the home buying and selling process takes too long, costs too much and has an unacceptably high rate of transactions falling through. It now intends to change it.
The Risks of Using a Developer’s Recommended Solicitor for New Build Conveyancing
Buying a new build property is an exciting milestone. Whether you are a first-time buyer or moving into a brand-new home, new build developments can offer modern designs, energy efficiency and attractive incentives from developers.
However, one decision that buyers are often encouraged to make early in the process is which conveyancing solicitor to use. Many developers strongly recommend a particular solicitor or conveyancing firm and may even offer financial incentives if you choose them.
Understanding Commonhold: A Guide to Converting Your Leasehold Property
Commonhold is a form of freehold ownership tailored for multi-unit buildings, such as blocks of flats. Each owner holds the freehold title to their individual unit (e.g., a flat) and becomes a member of a commonhold association—a company limited by guarantee that manages shared spaces like hallways, roofs, and gardens. The association operates democratically: decisions on maintenance, budgets, and rules are made by unit owners, typically through voting based on allocated shares.