Nick Burrows

Nick Burrows is the firm's chairman, a partner in our Corporate & Commercial department and head of our Charities & Education team. He advises clients from our Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham offices, as well as remotely.

Nick is highly experienced in advising charities, schools and third sector organisations on areas including formation, incorporation or conversion, constitutional matters and governance. He also advises on joint ventures, collaborations, consortia and mergers, together with contractual negotiations with funders and other parties, public procurement and fundraising.

Further, Nick advises clients, including businesses, in relation to contracts, including for example franchising and distribution agreements, e-commerce and IT contracts and outsourcing arrangements; data protection and intellectual property matters, such as trade marks and copyright. He also has a wealth of expertise in acting for partnerships and professional practices, advising on partnership law and on conversion to or the incorporation of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).

Nick has been recommended in both Chambers UK and The Legal 500. and is recognised as a 'leading individual' in the latter. He is a member of the Charity Law Association, a trustee of several local charities and participates in a range of sector focused events.

Examples of recent work

• Advising charities on becoming a charitable incorporated organisation (CIOs) or a company limited by guarantee and on the creation of charitable trusts. 
• Advising on the sale of a charitable institution to an independent purchaser.
• Acting for an air ambulance charity in the negotiation of major contracts with a large scale NHS Foundation Hospital and with a NHS Foundation Ambulance Trust in relation to the provision of the charity’s emergency services.
• Advising a charity on its obligations under the Charities Act in relation to the lending of money on a joint venture development project.
• Advising a well-known grant giving charitable trust on its purchase of a property for a substantial seven figure sum, including complex title, tax and constitutional matters.
• Dealing with the sale of all of the assets and liabilities of an independent school run by a charitable company to a commercial purchaser, including obtaining consent of the Charity Commission to a change of objects and advising on all compliance issues.
• Acting for several village halls, sports clubs and playing field associations on the incorporation of their charities to provide protection for trustees and modernisation of their constitutions.
• Acting for a not for profit company in the negotiation and finalisation of a complex outsourced software services and hosting contract, including provisions relating to bug fixing and future software development.
• Drafting a communications infrastructure development agreement for an integrated communications provider.
• Protecting the wealth of individuals by advising on the set up of family investment companies under which assets may be protected from Inheritance Tax.