Jaysen Sharpe

Areas of expertise

• Property

  Property

  Jaysen has a busy property practice and accepts instructions in all areas of real property, trusts of land disputes, and commercial & residential landlord and tenant law.

  He frequently appears on behalf of private and institutional landlords, mobile and digital infrastructure providers, pub companies, banks, and bridging finance lenders, in possession hearings, applications, CCMCs, committals, and trials.

  Recent work includes:

  • drafting proceedings for a declaration that consent was unreasonably withheld for an application to underlet premises to a luxury retailer on Sloane Street, where the superior landlord settled on service of the particulars of claim;
  • acting for a mobile infrastructure provider in reducing the transaction costs and litigation costs arising from a settled multi-skilled visit reference under paragraph 26(1) of the Electronic Communications Code, achieving an 83% reduction in transaction costs and a 75% reduction in litigation costs.
  • obtaining a 15 month immediate custodial sentence as sole counsel in a complex multi-day complex committal application, which was upheld on appeal: Turner & Anor v Coates [2025] EWCA Civ 782 in circumstances where an earlier committal resulted in a successful appeal against sentence;
  • obtaining civil restraint orders to prevent the frustration of warrants of possession;
  • led in the Court of Appeal for the successful respondent in Kerr v Poplar Housing and Regeneration Ltd Community Association [2024] EWCA Civ 1260;
  • led by Brie Stevens Hoare KC in a boundary dispute and emanation of sewage nuisance claim concerning high value luxury properties and defective construction of a basement;
  • obtaining possession at trial on behalf of fixed charge receivers of a company where the defendant alleged the grant of a tenancy in lieu of salary from the company;
  • obtaining a favourable settlement at mediation for the owner of an equestrian property in a boundary and water supply from a private reservoir easement dispute;
  • advising a commercial tenant on the validity of section 25 notices under the 1954 Act and the identity of the competent landlord;
  • advising the new owner of a residential property who found a tenant in occupation after completion;
  • acting for a member of the Qatari royal family to recover a property in sensitive high value possession proceedings;
  • settling a claim under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 at trial and still obtaining a costs order in favour of the Defendant;
  • successfully opposing pre-action disclosure applications brought against a water and sewerage undertaker following flooding to a property;
  • successfully establishing at trial that a purported sale of part of the land did not amount to an overriding interest binding on a subsequent purchaser;
  • varying a suspended possession order to rely on mandatory ground 7A where the tenancy pre-dated the introduction of ground 7A and contained restrictions on the grounds for possession;
  • advising on and drafting pleadings in various boundary and rights of way disputes relating to commercial premises, residential neighbour disputes, and a large Estate; and
  • drafting particulars of claim for recession following misrepresentation in a luxury property purchase.
• Commercial dispute resolution
  • Commercial litigation

    Commercial litigation

    Jaysen has a strong commercial practice and has experience of a wide variety of commercial work as a led junior and in his own right, and recently acted as sole counsel in a week-long trial, successfully defending a lender against a borrower’s attempt to rescind a loan on grounds of alleged fraud, duress, undue influence by the borrower’s solicitor who was alleged to be lender’s agent, unconscionability of the default interest rate, and breach of s.26 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

    Jaysen has experience of working in large teams on major commercial disputes and was instructed as disclosure & privilege counsel in a 5 month disclosure exercise for Vale S.A in the $36bn claim brought by 732,000 claimants following the collapse of the Fundão Dam in Brazil.

    Jaysen has experience of freezing orders as a led junior, and as sole counsel where he was successful in a rare application for a freezing order against a solicitor’s client account.

    Jaysen was led by PJ Kirby KC in Norsand Consultancy Ltd v Anandanadarajah & Ors [2022] EWHC 89 (Ch) and successfully obtained a £6 million judgment for unpaid commission for introductions in the oil and commodities broking sector, where the defendant director was personally liable on the basis that he procured breaches of contract by his own company.

    Jaysen has experience of unfair prejudice petitions and as a pupil assisted Emily Betts in advising Vincent Tan, the majority shareholder of Cardiff City FC, in his successful defence in Isaac v (1) Tan (2) Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd [2022] EWHC 2023.

    Other recent work includes:

    • led by David Lewis KC in a 15 day High Court trial due to be heard in November 2026 concerning breach of guarantee under a facility agreement;
    • drafting defences to unfair relationship allegations and FSMA and Regulated Activities Order claims for unregulated bridging finance lenders;
    • obtaining summary judgment against a director for breaches of his duties under the Companies Act 2006 and recovering £300,000 in equitable compensation;
    • successfully setting aside transactions defrauding creditors under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986;
    • drafting particulars of claim to recover a £500,000 directors’ loan;
    • assisting David Lewis KC in advising on estoppel by convention relating to the termination of a franchise agreement;
    • striking out a defence to a claim for tortious conversion of a rare high value classic Porsche undergoing restoration;
    • appearing as sole counsel in the High Court in James-Perry v Governor and the Company of the Bank of Ireland [2022] 10 WLUK 182 where he was successful in striking out the claim against the bank and obtained an extended civil restraint order against the claimant;
    • assisting John de Waal KC in advising on delays to shipments of PPE during the pandemic in Pharmapac (UK) Ltd v HBS Healthcare Ltd [2022] EWHC 23 (Comm)
    • advising, drafting, and appearing in various applications to extend time of the registration charges at Companies House;
    • successfully opposing CPR Part 85 third-party claims to controlled goods;
    • obtaining contested third-party debt orders under CPR Part 72 where funds were alleged to be held on trust;
    • appearing for a successful Claimant at trial where the Defendant was found to have made “a deliberate attempt to produce false evidence” and indemnity costs were awarded;
    • striking out vexatious claims brought against financial institutions and their directors;
    • defending financial institutions in PPI claims brought under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 in interim hearings and trials; and
    • instructed as a junior in a successful application for a multi-million pound post-judgment worldwide freezing order.
  • Civil fraud & asset tracing

    Civil fraud & asset tracing

    Jaysen recently acted as sole counsel in a week-long trial, where he successfully defended a lender against a borrower’s attempt to rescind a loan on grounds of alleged fraud, duress, undue influence by the borrower’s solicitor who was alleged to be lender’s agent. The Judge awarded indemnity costs against the borrower, whose evidence at trial was found by the Judge to be “an attempt to deflect matters away from the true position”, “invented”, “patently untrue” and having “invented a story about being pressured into the loan by a solicitor who she has chosen not to sue”.

    Recent work includes:

    • winding up an art gallery following the sale of a fraudulent Banksy painting to a US collector;
    • successfully setting aside transactions defrauding creditors under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986, which were entered into shortly before a trial; and
    • obtaining permission just 7 weeks before trial to amend particulars of claim to plead fraudulent misrepresentation in a share purchase agreement.
  • Banking & finance

    Banking & finance

    Jaysen was recently instructed as sole counsel in a 5 day trial, where he successfully defended a lender in a trial involving penalty clauses, the compliance of declarations under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, breaches of the general prohibition in s.26 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and the enforceability of contravening agreements, and the application of the FCA Handbook CONC App provisions.

    Jaysen has drafting and successful trial experience of challenging penalty and unfair relationship defences raised by borrowers in commercial lending and bridging finance agreements and recently appeared as sole counsel in a 4 day trial successfully obtaining judgment for £2.2m. Jaysen has experience of cross-examining experts in banking and finance matters and is happy to work as sole counsel or as part of a larger team.

    Jaysen is being led by David Lewis KC in a 15 day High Court trial due to be heard in November 2026 concerning breach of guarantee under a facility agreement.

• Insolvency & restructuring

  Insolvency & restructuring

  Jaysen frequently appears in winding up and bankruptcy petitions in the High Court and County Court and has a good knowledge of personal and corporate insolvency. He has experience of applications for possession and sale, applications to restrain the advertisement of winding up petitions, applications to set aside statutory demands, applications to extend the appointment of administrators, and applications to annul.

  Recent work includes:

  • winding up an art gallery following the sale of a fraudulent Banksy to a US collector;
  • obtaining the dismissal of applications for disclosure under IR 12.27(1)(b) in the context of an application to set aside a statutory demand;
  • obtaining the dismissal of an application to set aside a statutory demand at a pre-trial review;
  • advising a litigation investor on limitation in a breach of duty claim against a former shadow director;
  • advising on just and equitable winding up following a breakdown in a relationship between shareholders;
  • obtaining the dismissal of an application for specific disclosure in proceedings to set aside a statutory demand;
  • successfully defending a challenge to a trustee’s renumeration and expenses under IR. 10.134;
  • obtaining summary judgment in a claim for breach of directors’ fiduciary duties securing equitable compensation of over £300,000;
  • voiding fraudulent transfers of land under s.423 of the Insolvency Act 1986;
  • advising a landlord who brought possession proceedings against an insolvent tenant without leave;
  • obtaining a validation order under s.284 of the Insolvency Act 1986 on behalf of the supervisors of a failed IVA; and
  • drafting the petition for the winding up of an unregistered partnership under the Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994.
• International

  International

  Jaysen has advised on whether permission to serve out of the jurisdiction is required and drafted an application for permission to serve out of the jurisdiction.

  Jaysen particularly welcomes instructions in commercial disputes concerning Seychelles and is eligible for temporary admission to appear before the courts of Seychelles, where there are no restrictions on his right to work.

  Jaysen is familiar with the enforcement of foreign judgments in England and recently spoke at Gatehouse’s J2J Globalised Disputes: Bringing International Claims to England and Wales.