London—Dentons has won Property Team of the Year and been highly commended for International Law Firm of the Year at the British Legal Awards 2020.
The Property Team of the Year category recognises a single property deal 'that sets new standards in the delivery of legal services, thereby demonstrating the firm’s market-leading position'.
Dentons won for successfully acting for Sainsbury's, Sainsbury's Bank and the Co-Operative Group in the UK Supreme Court in the seminal ATM business rates litigation. On 20 May 2020, the UK Supreme Court handed down a decisive judgment in favour of the retailers seeking to avoid ATM sites being treated as separately rateable units for business rates purposes. Dentons acted on this matter from the outset and guided it through the Tribunal and Court process.
Bryan Johnston, UK Head of Real Estate Litigation and partner at Dentons, said, "I'm incredibly proud of our Real Estate Litigation team for winning this prestigious award. We have been acting on this matter since 2013 and were delighted with the outcome for our clients. This award is a wonderful recognition of our core strengths and the depth of our real estate litigation offer.
"Ultimately, the Supreme Court decision was not just a great victory for retailers who faced a substantial rates burden, but it was also a significant victory for the public and their ability to access their own money through the ATM network. Arguably, the Supreme Court decision has helped to keep ATMs in thousands of retail sites across England and Wales."
Dentons won Commercial Litigation Team of the Year at the Legal Business Awards earlier this year for the same matter.
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