Richard is regarded as an expert in this area and has commented in the national press regarding the proposed reforms to rating and mitigation strategies.

The rating team has advised some of the largest corporate occupier clients in the UK:

- We are acting on the Upper Tribunal appeal for one of the largest retail properties in the world, putting forward complex arguments on location, size and quality in conjunction with leading counsel

- We have worked on behalf of HSBC, together with the wider interest and support of the Interbank Rating Forum, to deal with a test case on the inclusion of CCTV and other security features specific to banks

- We successfully defended a major institutional landlord's use of empty rates mitigation schemes against a claim brought by the local billing authority, saving our client significant sums in respect of rates across its network of properties

- We have advised a water utility company in a test case in front of the Upper Tribunal which will have far-reaching implications for the industry and the way in which infrastructure renewal will be treated by the Valuation Office Agency.