Biography

Mark Payne is a partner in the Real Estate Practice Group in Haynes Boone’s London office.

His practice focuses on commercial and high value residential real estate transactions whether direct or indirect including investment, development, lettings and joint ventures. His work includes all types of real estate assets, including data centres, offices, retail, multi-family and other residential, logistics and hotels.

Mark deals with the corporate as well as the real estate aspects of transactions, enabling him to offer a cost-effective and efficient service with a single point of contact.

Mark has more than 30 years of experience in all types of real estate transactions. He has helped many international investors with their first investments in the U.K. and Europe. His clients are based in the U.S., the U.K., Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. Mark has led the team on many iconic transactions, including Chelsea Barracks, Battersea Power Station and 70 St Mary Axe (the ‘Can of Ham’) in London. His work included the creation of the joint ventures which acquired Chelsea Barracks and the commercial parts of Battersea Power Station.

He has acted for international investors, developers and funds and other institutions, as well as family offices and high-net-worth individuals in cross-border real estate investment and development transactions of all types. He has represented landlords and tenants on their premises requirements and letting needs and acted on a number of major headquarters transactions.

The Legal 500 UK 2022, Legalease, ranks Mark as a member of the Hall of Fame for Commercial Property: Occupier and as a leading individual in Commercial Property: Investment and in Commercial Property: Development. Clients have commented: “Mark is pragmatic, commercial and technical, all at the same time, an excellent combination” Legal 500 UK 2020. “Mark Payne is stand-out and is head and shoulders above practitioners in other firms. He delivers expert advice with excellent client care” Legal 500 UK 2021. “Mark Payne is adept in all facets of real estate, with a distinguished track record in representing sovereign wealth funds” Legal 500 UK 2022.

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  • Acted for Qatari Diar and CPC Group on the purchase for £959 million and Islamic financing of Chelsea Barracks in London, believed to be the highest value development land purchase in UK history.
  • Acted for the owners of the Battersea Power Station site on the negotiation of the complex agreements for the extension of the Northern underground LIne to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, which made the development of this iconic London site possible.
  • Acted for the data centre investor/operator on the largest data centre development in the UK at Dagenham in east London.
  • Acted for the investor/developer on the purchase, development and lettings of 70 St Mary Axe, the iconic office building in the City of London.
  • Acted for a Middle Eastern buyer on a programme of real estate investments in 10 European countries.
  • Acted for a Scandinavian sovereign wealth fund on a joint venture and purchase of 200 logistics properties located across Europe.
  • Acted for the private equity fund buyer of 125 Old Broad Street in the City of London for more than £300 million.
  • Acted for a German fund on the purchase and leaseback and later sale of the Co-Operative Group’s headquarters at One Angel Square in Manchester, believed to be the highest value U.K. office asset sale outside London for a decade.
  • Acted for the shariah compliant fund of an Asian institutional investor on the purchase and leaseback of Sportsdirect’s headquarters in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England.
  • Acted for a Middle Eastern buyer on the purchase and Islamic financing of a penthouse apartment at One Hyde Park in London, reputed to be the world’s most expensive apartment building.

Some of these representations were handled by Mark prior to joining Haynes Boone.


  • Fellow of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors)
  • Member of the Property Leaders Council of the British Property Federation
  • Member of the City of London Law Society
  • Member of the Oriel College, Oxford, Law Society Committee
  • Co-Founder of Opera Settecento

Education

B.A., M.A., in Jurisprudence, University of Oxford, 1984, (First Class)

Admissions

England and Wales