Ryan Fordham
Partner
Ryan is a construction and engineering expert, ushering clients through complex developments and projects.
Partner
Ryan is a construction and engineering expert, ushering clients through complex developments and projects.
Language - English
Jurisdiction - England & Wales
Ryan specialises in advising a range of clients including developers, contractors and funders across various sectors such as office, logistics, hospitality, data centre, living, retail, mixed use, life sciences, utilities, energy and infrastructure and provides tailored solutions for construction and engineering challenges. His expertise spans drafting and negotiating industry standard contracts including FIDIC, ICC, IChemE, JCT, MF/1, NEC3/4 and PPC2000 and bespoke contracts such as EPC, EPCM (offshore and onshore) and FEED contracts, as well as framework agreements, pre-construction services agreements, development management agreements, professional appointments, security and other ancillary construction and engineering documents, ensuring clients’ developments and projects are properly structured and procured.
His practice includes advising on development and project strategies, helping clients navigate the intricacies of construction contracts, and the construction aspects of development, funding and adoption agreements, as well as lease arrangements. His comprehensive approach ensures that clients can confidently manage their developments and projects, from inception to completion, while mitigating risks and maximising value.
Clients appreciate Ryan’s ability to combine legal expertise with a deep understanding of commercial pressures and timelines along with his excellent ability to get to the heart of the problem and find a practical solution to achieve their objectives. His work on high-profile developments and projects, such as One Blackfriars, the BBC Television Centre, Thames Tideway Tunnel and HS2, underscores his reputation as a go-to advisor for complex construction and engineering matters.
As a member of the Construction Law Committee of the City of London Law Society, clients further benefit from Ryan's enhanced contemporaneous knowledge of topical areas of law relating to the construction industry.
Award winning and five-star housebuilder
Drafted and negotiated the development funding agreement and the flow down provisions into the building contract on behalf of this developer relating to the development of three build to rent tower blocks (all higher-risk buildings) and associated infrastructure works in Hertfordshire with a construction value of circa £62 million and comprising 264 units.
West Midlands property developer
Represented the developer of an intended forward funded eleven-storey mixed-used redevelopment in Birmingham for 456 units and 5,500 sq ft of ground floor commercial space with estimated constructions costs of £120 million including negotiating the construction aspects of the development funding agreement and the building contract.
JV property developer
Advised a JV property developer on the development of 16 warehouse units comprising 120,000 sq ft on the 5.6-acre former Maritime Transport Depot in Trafford, Manchester including drafting, negotiating and completing a multitude of building contracts, professional appointments, security documents and collateral warranties, as well as assisted the negotiation of the facility agreement and subsequent agreements for lease.
Global data centre developer and operator
Advised this developer on its pre-lets and provided procurement strategy, contract drafting and project advice for three of its London data centre developments. The first two completed developments have 35,000 m2 of total space and 36 MW of total capacity and the third is currently held for development.
Multinational universal bank
Advised the structurer and advisor (as the ultimate client) on a £600 million securitisation for a global data centre developer and operator, backed by two data centres in the UK. This transaction was the first public securitisation of data centre assets in the EMEA region.
English government executive agency
Advised an English government executive agency by drafting two stage tender construction contracts based on the NEC3 ECC Option A 2013, appointments and ancillary construction documents and leading its negotiations with multiple contractors, for the design and construction of a proposed £530 million national integrated hub for public health science in Essex, which was procured via the Competitive Procedure with Negotiation public sector procurement route.
London property owner and developer
Acted for the owner and developer in its negotiations with its development manager of an iconic £400 million mixed-use redevelopment in White City, London.
Top London property developer
Drafted, negotiated and completed several building contracts on behalf of the developer with different contractors for a 50-storey landmark residential and commercial tower on the South Bank, London with construction costs of more than £100 million.
Joint venture contractors
Advised JV contractors in the preparation of their NEC3 2013 subcontracts, supply contracts and professional services contracts and provided ad hoc contract advice in relation to the construction of the West section of Thames Tideway Tunnell with a total project cost of £5 billion.
GRS Group
Advised this sub-contractor on its tender returns and provided project advice for its sub-contract works packages utilising the NEC3 ECSS and TSSC with Z clauses on the estimated £49 billion to £56.6 billion Phase 1 of the HS2 project from London to the West Midlands.
