Clare Strachan

Managing Associate
Clare delivers strategic commercial real estate advice for investors, developers and occupiers
Clare delivers strategic commercial real estate advice for investors, developers and occupiers

About

Clare advises institutional investors, developers and corporate occupiers on complex commercial real estate matters across the UK. She is known for delivering intelligent, practical and commercially focused solutions, particularly within the logistics, retail & leisure and office sectors.

Clare returned to Stevens & Bolton in 2026 from a well-regarded Hampshire firm, where she was Partner and Head of Commercial Property. She previously practised at Stevens & Bolton LLP from 2014 to 2021, having started her career at an international London law firm.

Clare is recognised as a leading lawyer, having been shortlisted and awarded Runner Up – Lawyer of the Year at the 2024 Hampshire Law Society Legal Awards.

Her expertise spans the full range of commercial property work, including:

  • Landlord and tenant matters, including complex conditional and pre‑let lease agreements;
  • High‑value acquisitions and disposals, including large property portfolios; and
  • Strategic advice on the property aspects of corporate M&A and restructurings.
Expertise
Real estate and construction Corporate occupiers

Experience

  • Recent work
    • Advising Mactaggart Family & Partners on two multi‑million‑pound lease agreements with The Automobile Association, facilitating its relocation to the iconic Grade II‑listed Plant Building in Basingstoke
    • Negotiating a £17 million refinancing for an investor with a portfolio of over 75 mixed‑use properties
    • Advising a major pharmaceutical company on the £10 million acquisition of distressed assets, including a £5 million laboratory site purchase
    • Advising on the property aspects of Bannatyne Group’s multi-million pound acquisition of Beechdown Leisure Centre
    • Acting for Circle Development, a UK-based construction consultancy, on the acquisition of its new London office headquarters in Covent Garden
    • Advising on the UK expansion of national and international restaurant brands, including TGI Fridays and the largest independent Burger King franchisee
  • Qualifications and Recognition

    Clare was recognised at the Hampshire Law Society Legal Awards 2024 as a finalist for Lawyer of the Year, receiving the Runner Up award.

  • Advising Mactaggart Family & Partners on two multi‑million‑pound lease agreements with The Automobile Association, facilitating its relocation to the iconic Grade II‑listed Plant Building in Basingstoke
  • Negotiating a £17 million refinancing for an investor with a portfolio of over 75 mixed‑use properties
  • Advising a major pharmaceutical company on the £10 million acquisition of distressed assets, including a £5 million laboratory site purchase
  • Advising on the property aspects of Bannatyne Group’s multi-million pound acquisition of Beechdown Leisure Centre
  • Acting for Circle Development, a UK-based construction consultancy, on the acquisition of its new London office headquarters in Covent Garden
  • Advising on the UK expansion of national and international restaurant brands, including TGI Fridays and the largest independent Burger King franchisee

Clare was recognised at the Hampshire Law Society Legal Awards 2024 as a finalist for Lawyer of the Year, receiving the Runner Up award.

Delivering intelligent, practical, and commercially viable solutions.
Legal 500

Related Insights

View Let’s make it happen at UKREiiF 2026
2mins read

Let’s make it happen at UKREiiF 2026

13 May 2026
I’m looking forward to attending this year’s UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) with colleagues from Stevens &...
Tile for Let’s make it happen at UKREiiF 2026
View Contractual control agreements
5mins read

Contractual control agreements

18 March 2026
A new public register for contractual control agreements: what landowners and developers need to know. The Government has now published...
Tile for Contractual control agreements
View Building Blocks – Y for Yielding Up
5mins read

Building Blocks – Y for Yielding Up

16 March 2026
In this instalment of our Building Blocks series, Jack Lightburn explores the often‑overlooked yielding up clause in a commercial lease -...
Tile for Building Blocks – Y for Yielding Up