International law firm, HBJ Gateley Wareing, has appointed two real estate specialists to its Edinburgh office.

The arrival of Senior Associate Alastair Cowan and Associate Simon Dawes from Dickson Minto means the firm now boasts one of the biggest English property legal teams in Scotland.

The pair have extensive experience of the market in particular investment purchases, asset management and security work and bring a considerable client offering with them.

Alastair, 34, will continue to develop his advisory relationship with the owners of The Gyle, the Murdock Group (who own three other UK shopping centres), Howden Joinery and the Buccleuch Group. He will also have a key role in driving the department’s expansion plans.

Alastair has been involved in some of the highest profile deals to have taken place in Scotland in the last year and has a formidable reputation as a deal maker and strategic adviser.

Alastair qualified from Aberdeen University in 1998. He trained with Archibald Campbell & Harley before joining Shepherd and Wedderburn in 2001 and thereafter Dickson Minto in 2004. Alastair is dual qualified in Scotland and England/Wales.

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Simon, 34, is nine years’ qualified. Originally from Kent, he graduated from Manchester University in 2001 before undertaking his traineeship with Jeffrey Green Russell in London, thereafter spending a number of years at both the London office of Shepherd and Wedderburn and Dickson Minto.

Career highlights for Simon have included dealing with the purchase of Southampton Football Club following its administration last year; acting for UKCPT on a multi million pound portfolio purchase from Phoenix Life; and acting in the purchase of a 51 site, multi million pound industrial portfolio for FIX UK Portfolio from Capital and Regional.

Miles Ede, Head of Real Estate in Scotland at HBJ Gateley Wareing said: "Alastair and Simon are fantastic additions to our team. It was evident from the very first conversations that they would be a great fit with the team and would help to cement our reputation as a force to be reckoned with in the Scottish Real Estate arena.

"Regardless of the difficult marketplace for real estate there is never a bad time to acquire quality people with first class client followings, and Alastair and Simon fit the bill perfectly. This was true when Mike Fitzgerald joined us last year and remains true now."

These appointments take HBJ Gateley Wareing"s real estate team in Scotland to 28 in total.

Malcolm McPherson, senior partner of HBJ Gateley Wareing said: "This is a significant coup for the firm to secure the appointment of two of Scotland’s valued property specialists and enables us to offer one of the largest if not the largest English property legal team in Scotland."

(GK)