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Mark Heighton
Partner

Mark Heighton

Co-Head of the CMS International Real Estate Group

Languages
  • English

Mark Heighton is the Co-Head of the CMS International Real Estate Team and is jointly responsible  for managing over 350 fee earners across the UK and internationally. He has been a member of the CMS Board for over 12 years.

He focuses on all aspects of the real estate transactional market advising a range of investors, developers and occupiers in relation to, not only the traditional real estate sectors (with particular emphasis on mixed use and residential development) but also the newer real estate asset classes, such as the private rented and retirement sectors and renewable energy.

Mark also has extensive experience of property related joint ventures, trust arrangements and collaboration agreements for both investment and development projects.

He has been ranked as a leading and key individual by the Legal 500 and Chambers directories for many years.  Mark has been listed in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame for the last few years.  

Mark is also the Partner Chair of our employee led Social Mobility Network.  He was listed in the second edition of FT HERoes and Champions of Women in Business list in September 2018.

Relevant experience

  • Imperial College in relation to the acquisition and development of its White City Campus comprising over a million square feet of academic, residential, office, research and innovation space.
  • Long Harbour/Long Harbour Multi Family Fund on a number of private rented sector forward fundings across the UK, including sites in Birmingham, Leicester and Chatham and most recently the forward funding of the development of over 400 private residential units at Tottenham Hale.
  • Taylor Wimpey Central London on the acquisition and development of a number of sites in Central London including a mixed use development at the Music Box,  Southwark, Onyx, Camley and Battersea Park Village, Battersea.
  • Crest Nicholson in relation to the Brightwells Farnham Regeneration Scheme at East Street, Farnham – 239 private and affordable residential units, a new cinema and a range of new retail and leisure units.
  • Assured Guarantee on the financing of the development of over 1,400 student rooms being constructed at the York University Campus by Equitix.
  • University College London on the acquisition and development of the world leading PEARL research laboratory in Dagenham.
     

Memberships & Roles

  • Mark is a member of a number of real estate sector associations including The Investment Property Forum, British Council of Shopping Centres and British Council of Offices.

Education

  • LLB, Sheffield University, Sheffield
  • Law Society Finals (First Class Honours), The College of Law
  • MA (Business Law), London Metropolitan University, London

Mark Heighton is the Co-Head of the CMS International Real Estate Team.

He has been a member of the CMS Board for over 10 years.  He focuses on all aspects of the real estate transactional market advising a range of investors, developers and occupiers in relation to, not only the traditional real estate sectors but also the newer real estate asset classes, such as renewable energy and private rented sectors. 

Mark also has extensive experience of property related joint ventures, trust arrangements and collaboration agreements for both investment and development projects.

He has been ranked as a leading and key individual by the Legal 500 and Chambers directories for many years.  

Relevant experience

  • RWE on its disposal of stakes in the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm and Little Cheyne Court onshore Wind Farm to Greencoat Capital and the Green Investment Bank for £165m.
  • Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Fund on the acquisition and financing of a number of portfolios of solar farms.
  • Aviva Investors on £36m funding of a new Energy Innovation Centre for Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at Addenbrookes Hospital to be operated by Mitie.
  • Octopus Capital on the real estate aspects of the sale of a stake in Lightsource Renewable Energy.
  • Wirsol/Conergy West Sussex on the acquisition and disposal of a number of solar farm development sites and facilities.
  • The Channel Tunnel Group Limited in relation to the proposed electricity interconnector being constructed by Eleclink through The Channel Tunnel.

Publications

  • Mark is a regular author in the real estate press – particularly the Estate Gazette

Memberships & Roles

  • Mark is a member of a number of real estate sector associations including The Investment Property Forum, British Council of Shopping Centres and British Council of Offices.

Education

  • LLB, Sheffield University, Sheffield
  • Law Society Finals (First Class Honours), The College of Law
  • MA (Business Law), London Metropolitan University, London