Andrew Grima

With almost 30 years of experience in property law, Andrew assists clients with all aspects of retail, industrial and commercial leasing, and commercial and residential property acquisitions and disposals.

Andrew works with both landlords and tenants to assist with negotiations, drafting of leases, major leasing and construction projects and related transactions, and their leasing disputes.

In relation to property acquisitions and disposals, Andrew acts on transactions of all sizes ranging from the acquisition and disposal of residential homes through to commercial properties including shopping centres and agricultural holdings. He understands that managing complex business structures and anticipating risks is crucial in these transactions. Working closely with our corporate & commercial team and private clients teams (when M&A and tax issues arise), Andrew provides his clients with a holistic and seamless service.

Andrew’s approach is to identify and understand the needs and goals of each client and work with them to achieve these goals.

Clients he represents include high-net-worth individuals, not-for-profits including the NDIS sector, retailers and distributors, local subsidiaries of foreign companies, national franchisors, franchisees, public companies, local councils, government departments, universities and SMEs.

 

Qualifications/Memberships

• Bachelor of Laws (Honors) & Economics (University of Sydney)

• Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors

• Member of Law Society of NSW

 

A word from Andrew

I enjoy my role as a lawyer immensely and am passionate about what I do. This enjoyment and passion results in a dedication towards my clients, which assists them to achieve the best outcome possible. I work to achieve that outcome in an efficient, pragmatic and commercial fashion. This means I like to spend a lot of time with my clients, getting to know them and their businesses and to gain an understanding of their business and commercial needs. I see being a lawyer as being a facilitator of problem solving, risk management adviser and a partner for my clients. I pride myself on being accessible and available, providing calm reassurance during times of stress, big decisions and key moments in their business journey.

 

Career highlights

• Regularly acting on acquisitions and disposals totalling in excess of $100 million in value.

• Acting on behalf of many national and multinational companies in relation to design and construction projects for the leasing of their office, warehousing, or manufacturing facilities. This includes assisting with the negotiation of the initial heads of agreement to ensure commercial terms mitigate delivery risk, agreements for lease to map out building and construction covenants through to complex incentive structures. Footprint of individual projects have exceeded 70,000 square metres. Some projects have also required Foreign Investment Review Board Applications.

• Acting on behalf of Government agencies to assist in the negotiation and finalisation of over 500 leases ranging from CBD offices, regional centres, retail footprints, community facilities and infrastructure sites.

• Assisting in the negotiation and finalisation of the leasing of retail and commercial premises for high-end fashion retailers across their Australian and New Zealand footprints.

• Assisting in the management, negotiation and finalisation of the leasing of retail and commercial premises for food and beverage retail brands across their Australia-wide footprint.

• Assisting landlords and tenants in settling tenancy disputes including many mediations.

• Assisting private investor landlords and their agents in managing, negotiating and finalising their industrial, commercial and retail footprints, in excess of 500 leases per annum.

• Founder, leader and driving force behind Western Sydney’s largest charity race for almost a decade, raising just under $1.2 million dollars for children with special needs and newborn care, and being awarded Wellness Initiative of the Year.

• Finalist - Lawyers Weekly Wellness Advocate of the Year 2019.

• Mentoring young lawyers and paralegals with their career development & journey.

 

Specific areas of focus

• Acquisition and disposal of all asset types whether residential, commercial, industrial, retail or rural. 

• Retail, commercial and industrial leasing transactions

• Leasing disputes

• Sectors including not-for-profit, government, retail, franchising, automotive, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution and transport.