Peter Jansen

Legal Director
0207 061 5967
Contact by email

I was singing both yours and Rachel’s praises yesterday as we have been very
impressed with your assistance on this and Woodlands.

Suzy Verma, Senior Relationship Director, Santander Corporate Banking

Thank you for your invaluable help throughout this case. It’s certainly raised some interesting issues and your assistance guiding us through them has been much appreciated. I know that Philip is very pleased with the outcome and that the headache of further litigation has been avoided!

Nick Schofield, Aviva Legal, following successful settlement of a case involving defective foundations.

Practice areas:

Sector experience:

Peter is a highly experienced construction lawyer and has advised clients on projects and dispute resolution both in the UK and internationally.

His advisory work has included assisting governments and government entities, local authorities, lenders, consortia and concession companies, developers, engineers and contractors.

Peter has extensive knowledge of the principal sectors engaged with the construction industry and a close understanding of the forms of contracts (and related legal materials) it uses, their structure and how they function in allocating risk.

His approach is commercial and collaborative, identifying and agreeing objectives for achieving the best and most cost effective solutions for the client. In both contentious and transactional work, this is most often obtained by taking firm, well supported but pragmatic positions.

Peter has lectured in construction law at the University of Hong Kong, is a speaker at numerous conferences and seminars and is a trainer for MBL.

Memberships

  • Admitted in England and Wales and in Hong Kong.
  • Member of Society of Construction Law, Procurement Lawyers Association.

Case highlights

Contentious work
  • Acted for a party to a procurement challenge in the TCC involving breaches of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 concerning the award of a contract for the disposal of nuclear waste
  • Settled a dispute by mediation over defects in an agricultural irrigation scheme and anaerobic digestion plant in Lincolnshire.
  • Advising several local authorities on disputes with waste management contractors.
  • Advising a catering franchisee on a dispute with the management of a leisure centre over its contract for the provision of catering services at the facility.
  • Advising a local authority housing management team on contractual disputes with its PFI contractor and the maintenance services provider for the scheme.
  • Represented a London social housing provider in a dispute with a maintenance contractor arising from numerous performance failures on multiple sites around Greater London.
  • Settled disputes between an NHS Trust and a project company over repeated performance failures by a maintenance contractor during the operational phase of a PFI hospital scheme.
  • Recovered damages for a commercial landlord under collateral warranties related to claims for the defective design and construction of the piles, foundations and  floor slab of a large factory building in Thurrock, East London.
  • Conducting adjudications arising from construction disputes related to social housing and other residential schemes, commercial developments, renewable energy projects, and civil engineering.
  • Successfully represented a consulting engineer in an investigation by the health and safety executive into a fatal accident at a Ministry of Defence construction site.
  • Represented the main contractor in a five-party mediation over three days involving a major design fault in the construction of a new university campus.
  • Successfully represented a hotel owner in an LCIA arbitration involving claims for additional payment and defective work related to a resort development in the Caribbean, and in the subsequent appeal against the award.
  • Acted for the supplier and designer of a food manufacturing facility in a claim for damages around the defective design and installation of the mechanical plant.
  • Advising joint venture of contractors on linked disputes over the withholding of final acceptance certificates on 8 solar farms at different locations in the UK.
  • Responding to an adjudication referral on behalf of one of two joint employers in relation to a loss and expense claim brought by the contractor on a commercial development scheme in Liverpool.
Procurement:
  • Advising Newmarket Town Council on arrangements for the sharing of services with two neighbouring district councils and on issues arising out of a tender for the provision of engineering and maintenance services.                                                                                
  • Advising on tender documentation and post tender reviews on behalf of DFID for the procurement of shipbuilding and infrastructure services to provide a ro-ro ferry service between Port Bell and Mwanza on Lake Victoria, Africa.                                                 
  • Advising a service provider in relation to a variation of a framework agreement for the provision of digital services to the Home Office.
  • Advising the Trading Standards Institute on a potential procurement challenge related to the procurement of call vetting services and arrangements for the scoring of tenders.                                                                                                                          
  • Advising a Belgian telecoms provider on its bid to provide telephony services to the House of Lords and acting for it in the challenge brought by a rival bidder on the tender.
Transactional work
  • Advised on and negotiated contract documentation for student accommodation schemes in London, Plymouth Newcastle, Liverpool and Reading.
  • Advising on and drafting documentation related to PFI schemes, including the MOD Main Building, Whitehall; hospitals at  Woolwich Coventry Dudley Newcastle Derby; schools in Newham and Redbridge; fire stations for Suffolk County Council Fire and Rescue Service.
  • Assisted the owners and developers of a specialist private hospital in West London to develop a suite of contracts based on NEC 3 with a view to addressing specific legal and commercial issues affecting the project.
  • Advising asset managers and developers on, drafting and negotiating development and construction contracts based on the JCT Design & Build form, consultant appointments, collateral warranties, performance bonds  and guarantees for commercial and mixed use schemes throughout the UK including retail, offices, hotels and housing.
  • Advised on transport infrastructure schemes in London and on projects to improve and modernise ticketing on London’s transport, and to extend the congestion charge zone. Drafting agreements for the funding of a transport interchange scheme, and for the construction of road bridges over existing railway lines.
  • Acted for public authorities, contractors, concession companies and lenders on several PFI schemes in the UK, including Hospitals, light rail projects, schools, leisure centres, government buildings, and housing, advising on and negotiating project agreements, construction and FM agreements, direct agreements with lenders. Advising project companies and lenders on variations to PFI schemes.
  • Acted for a joint venture contractor in negotiating an EPC contract guarantee documentation, and subcontracts for the design and construction of an LNG unloading facility and regasification plant at Dabhol India.
  • Advised the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on drafting contract documentation for the development design and construction of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Publications

Authored articles in International Construction Law Review, Procurement Journal and Building.

Contributing author to Lexis PSL Construction.