James Martin

James is a Senior Associate in Kensington Swan’s Commercial Property team. He provides specialist advice on a full range of issues relating to real estate / infrastructure projects, including large scale transactions, developments, and portfolio management issues.

He has extensive expertise in the real estate aspects of company acquisitions and disposals, joint ventures, and corporate restructuring.  He has undertaken numerous large-scale due diligence investigations on some of New Zealand's largest corporate mergers, acquisitions, and restructurings.

James also advises overseas investors and New Zealand-based overseas owned companies on the implications of the overseas investment regime on their property acquisitions, infrastructure projects, and corporate transactions.  He has advised some of the largest corporates operating in New Zealand on land-based Overseas Investment Act applications and works closely with the Overseas Investment Office.

Recent examples of significant work James has been involved in include: 
 

      Advising an NZX top five corporate on significant joint venture infrastructure projects incorporating both real estate and overseas investment aspects.
 

      Advising a major New Zealand based infrastructure organisation on the real estate and overseas investment aspects of a significant acquisition including sale and lease-back and future land-based option arrangements.
 

      Advising joint venture consortia of major international companies on the establishment of a complex suite of land, development and joint venture documentation on two significant separate developments.
  

      Advising two separate local government organisations on a large scale marine precinct development in Auckland and a new urban master plan for development of over 200ha of land near Taupo.
 

Prior to joining Kensington Swan, James worked at Bell Gully where he provided specialist property and overseas investment advice.  He also worked at London firm Beachcroft, where he advised on a wide range of commercial property matters including various large scale development projects involving PPP and other project structures.  During this time he was also seconded to the leading multinational, Unilever.