Practice overview
Tom is a commercial barrister who specialises in three areas: civil fraud; company and insolvency disputes; and construction disputes (including associated professional negligence and insurance). He also has a growing practice involving art and cultural property disputes.
Tom is experienced at working as part of a large team in large and complex litigation, including:
- SKAT v Solo Capital Partners LLP [2025] EWHC 2364 (Comm): a £1.4 billion fraud claim brought by the Kingdom of Denmark against a hedge fund and a large number of individuals associated with it, which was tried over the course of a year from April 2024 to April 2025. It is believed to be the longest trial in the history of the Commercial Court. Tom’s team was successful in defeating all claims brought against their clients.
- Borelli v Otaibi & ors: a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in complex financial structured products, real property, and art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
Tom is equally happy acting as sole counsel. He acts unled in multi-day trials, and regularly appears in all manner of interim applications in both the High Court and County Court.
Click on the tabs at the side to see a fuller description of his expertise.
Prior to pupillage, Tom worked for a Legal Tech company where he taught a machine learning programme to recognise different types of contractual terms. The programme is used by M&A lawyers at leading firms to undertake due diligence more quickly and more accurately.
Tom studied Law at St Anne’s College, Oxford, where he was elected JCR President and won a college prize for his performance in finals. He was awarded an advocacy scholarship and graded Outstanding on the Bar course.
In his spare time, Tom enjoys playing, watching and talking about cricket.
Areas of expertise
- Art, Cultural Property, and Luxury Goods
Art, Cultural Property, and Luxury Goods
Recent instructions include:
- Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in, amongst other things, art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
- Led by David Pliener KC in a four-way dispute over the possession of a painting by Picasso, involving issues of title, bailment, conversion, breach of contract, and deposits.
- Acting in a claim for arising from the breach of a contract for the sale of Chinese antiquities.
- Acted for an art authenticator who was vexatiously sued in negligence after declaring an artwork to be a fake. Tom was successful in striking out the claim.
- Acted in an application under Section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 on behalf of the director of a Pokémon card grading company.
- Civil fraud
Civil fraud
Recent instructions as junior counsel include:
- Tom successfully acted as junior counsel for the main Defendants in Skatteforvaltningen (Danish Customs and Tax Authority) v Solo Capital Partners LLP & Ors, led by Nigel Jones KC, Sarah McCann, Lisa Freeman (Furnival Chambers), and Emily Betts. This landmark Commercial Court case involved claims totalling £1.4 billion, including deceit, conspiracy, unjust enrichment, breach of constructive trust, dishonest assistance, and knowing receipt arising from complex share trading. In October 2025, the Defendants succeeded in defending all claimsbrought by Skatteforvaltningen. Read more here.
- Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in complex financial structured products, real property, and art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
- Led by David Pliener KC in recovering funds from a solicitor who fraudulently misappropriated clients’ assets.
Recent instructions as sole counsel include:
- Acting in a claim where payment was made based on a forged invoice.
- Acted in a building dispute involving issues of forged evidence at trial.
- Acted in relation to a suspected ‘romance scam’.
- Acted for the defendant in a one-day preliminary issue trial involving an allegation that a signature on a deed of trust was forged.
- Assisted with an advice on limitation in a claim for misrepresentation.
- Commercial dispute resolution
Commercial dispute resolution
Tom’s specialist practice areas mean that he is frequently in the Commercial Court and Circuit Commercial Court. In addition to the specialist areas listed on the other tabs, he has the following experience in general commercial disputes.
Recent instructions as junior counsel include:
- Led by James Shaw in a one-day trial in the London Circuit Commercial Court relating to the construction of a joint venture agreement.
- Assisted David Lewis KC and Charles Raffin acting for a major national franchisor in a termination dispute with former franchisee.
Recent instructions as sole counsel include:
- Acting in the one-day trial of a claim involving the terms of an oral share purchase agreement.
- Advised on a claim involving a breach of a publishing contract.
- Advised on claiming for breach of an exclusivity agreement in an M&A transaction.
- Advised on the prospects of enforcing a business purchase agreement through specific performance.
- Acted for the claimant in a trial listed for two days to determine the effect of a clawback provision in a share purchase agreement. Tom was successful in striking out the defendant’s defence on the first morning.
- Advised on the enforceability of guarantees totalling £150,000.
- Acted in a one-day trial in relation to a disputed loan agreement.
- Acted for the claimant in a three-day trial involving a disputed loan agreement.
- Advised on the validity of a brokering agreement on an urgent basis.
- Acted in an application for summary judgment by a major national franchisor.
- Construction & engineering
Construction & engineering
A significant part of Tom’s practice involves settling pleadings and adjudication submissions in construction disputes, including in multi-party disputes.
Recent instructions as junior counsel include:
- Led by George Eyre in a Part 8 claim for declarations regarding an adjudicator’s decision.
Recent instructions as sole counsel include:
- Acted in an adjudication involving issues of wrongful termination.
- Acted for the contractor in a claim involving allegations of defective workmanship.
- Acted for the employer in a three-day trial where both the identity of the contracting party and the value of the works were in dispute.
- Acted for the employer in a one-day trial involving allegations of defective workmanship.
- Acted in a mediation for a contractor involving allegations of defective workmanship.
- Providing urgent advice to a contractor on their right to terminate a contract.
- Injunctions and interim applications
Injunctions and interim applications
Recent instructions as sole counsel include:
- Acted (without notice and on an urgent basis) in an injunction brought by a company to prevent an individual from holding himself out as a director, and to deliver up the access codes to the company’s Companies House web page.
- Advised on the prospects of a freezing injunction.
- Acted in both interim and final hearings in applications for anti-social behaviour injunctions.
- Acted (including without notice and on an urgent basis) in applications for injunctions against trespassers (including against persons unknown).
- Acted for applicants for access injunctions, in both the civil and criminal courts.
- Acted in enforcement hearings for breaches of Tomlin and consent orders.
- Advised (on an urgent basis) on the prospects of an injunction to restrain a winding up petition.
- Acted in an application for security for costs.
- Drafted an application for specific disclosure.
- Acted in a claim to controlled goods under Part 85.
Tom regularly appears in all manner of interim applications, including applications for strike out, summary judgment, security for costs, amendment, and extensions of time.
- Insolvency, companies & partnership
Insolvency, companies & partnership
Recent instructions as junior counsel include:
- Led by Nigel Jones KC in a £tens of millions fraud claim involving 51 parties, brought by the liquidators of four funds against their investment managers, investment advisors, directors, and other parties, related to the funds’ investment in complex financial structured products, real property, and art. It is currently listed for a 12 week trial in the Commercial Court in 2027.
- Assisted with the drafting of an unfair prejudice petition.
- Led by Paul Strelitz in an application for permission to appeal a decision to give permission to pursue a derivative claim.
- Led by Jonathan Titmuss in advising a trustee in bankruptcy on realising the assets of a limited liability partnership.
- During pupillage, assisted Emily Betts and Ryan Hocking to act for the majority shareholder of Cardiff City Football Club in the 6 day trial of a complex unfair prejudice petition (Isaac v Tan & Cardiff City Football Club (Holdings) Limited [2023] 1 B.C.L.C. 133)
Recent instructions as sole counsel include:
- Acting for the liquidator of two retail companies in relation to misfeasance claims with combined values of over £800,000.
- Acted (without notice, at the return date, and at several hearings of applications to set aside / vary the order) in an injunction brought by a company to prevent an individual from holding himself out as a director, pending resolution of a trial on the issue.
- Drafted proceedings under Section 1096 of the Companies Act 2006 to remove filings from Companies House.
- Drafted a claim for breach of director’s duties for the assignee of a liquidator’s claims against a company’s directors.
- Acted for the liquidator of a construction company in a director’s misfeasance claim worth approximately £800,000.
- Advising on the prospects of an injunction to restrain a winding up petition on an urgent basis following the collapse of a well-known energy company.
Tom also regularly appears in the High Court and County Court in bankruptcy and winding-up petitions, and related hearings.
- Professional negligence
Professional negligence
Recent instruction as junior counsel include:
- Led by David Pliener KC in recovering funds from a solicitor who fraudulently misappropriated clients’ assets.
- Led by Sara Ibrahim in a complex professional negligence dispute against a solicitor, valued at over £2 million. The professional negligence claim requires the reconstruction of an equal pay claim.
Seminars and articles
Thomas is a contributing author to the Practical Law Arbitration Blog. With other members of chambers, Thomas gives talks to junior solicitors on how solicitors and counsel can work together to get the best results for the client.
Please view the ‘insights’ tab for further information.
Insights
Past events
Contact details
Practice team
Contact the team at gteam@gatehouselaw.co.uk or get in touch with one of our Practice Managers.
