New consultant driving real estate for BDB Pitmans

Andrew Smith Partner &

UK law firm BDB Pitmans, with offices in Southampton, London, Cambridge and Reading, is pleased to announce the appointment of Hugh Lumby, who will provide consultancy services to the firm’s leading real estate practice. Hugh has had a distinguished career and was Head of Global Real Estate at Ashurst LLP.

At BDB Pitmans Hugh will be focusing on supporting the leading real estate business, especially in growing the regeneration offering. Hugh will be based out of the BDB Pitmans Southampton office and will be supporting its growth with his extensive local contacts. Hugh joins at an exciting time for the Southampton office, which recently became the official charity law partner of the Saints Foundation and sponsors of TEDxSouthampton in October 2021. The firm also signed the Southampton Greener City Plan 2030 and committed funding to support the vision for a cleaner, greener, healthier city.

Throughout his longstanding legal career, Hugh has worked on a wide range of projects, especially in the regeneration field. These include twenty five years working on the development of West London, helping to deliver the infrastructure for the London Olympics and the acquisition and development of office buildings in the City of London. His schemes have included transport infrastructure, hotels, student accommodation, housing and utilities.

Well-known in Hampshire as a County Councillor, he represents the Meon Valley division. He is also an elected member of Winchester City Council, where he is the shadow portfolio holder for the assets and the local economy. His other roles include being the chairman of the River Hamble Harbour Authority Management Committee.

Hugh has held the position of Co-Chairman of the European Urban Regeneration Council at the Urban Land Institute and is ranked as an Eminent Practitioner in Chambers and Partners UK 2019. He was a visiting Professor at the University of Law and has lectured on development and regeneration at the University of the Sorbonne. He is also a judge at the International Property Awards.

Commenting on his new role at BDB Pitmans, Hugh said:

‘BDB Pitmans has a great reputation and I’m looking forward to supporting the Southampton office and wider team. With the freeport creation and the bid to become UK City of Culture 2025, there are huge opportunities in regeneration to transform Southampton, Portsmouth and the wider Central South region. The firm already has a leading real estate offering, with over 100 lawyers, and an impressive track record in waterside and housing developments. I am excited to support the team in further developing its offering.’

Andrew Smith, Managing partner of BDB Pitmans, said:

‘Hugh has an exceptional level of experience in regeneration and a broad range of contacts to add to our existing bench strength. We very much look forward to working with him at this key time when regeneration will become a major growth area both nationally and on the South Coast.’

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