John Fairgray

John heads up the BBW Lawyers commercial team. With almost twenty five years’ experience in both Australia and the United Kingdom, he has considerable expertise in front and back end commercial advisory and transactional legal work, with matters ranging from routine, business as usual, up to multi-million dollar deals.

An experienced advocate, John also represents and advises clients in commercial litigation and dispute resolution with a focus on general commercial, as well as insolvency and debt recovery proceedings.

John’s clients include a variety of commercial operations, companies and not-for-profits. He has specialist knowledge of commercial, private and not-for-profit businesses, industry associations and financiers, and has a particular interest in the aged care, disability and retirement villages sectors.

Highlights:

• referred legal supplier for a number of Australia’s large not-for-profits providing aged care, disability and retirement villages services.
• preferred legal supplier for an ASX Top 10 listed company’s large volume of debt recovery and insolvency litigation matters. 
• preferred legal supplier for national Australian building and construction company. 
• preferred legal supplier for an ASX Top 100 integrated services company.
• preferred legal supplier for one of Australia’s largest mercantile agencies.
• preferred legal supplier for one of Australia’s largest sports management agencies.
• member of Australia’s first Advisory Board for quality aged care.
• advising a client in relation to its 25 year engagement with government in the two staged $1.3 billion social and affordable housing fund, including assisting with the due diligence process and the negotiation and finalisation of the fund’s services agreement.
• advising an Australian charitable organisation that mentors indigenous youth exiting high school and facilitates future employment opportunities.
• acting in a $20 million manufactured home park sale on behalf of the vendor, including assisting with the due diligence process and thereafter disposal and transfer of all assets.
• successful $30 million non-litigated dissolution of 20+ year joint venture between two parties.
• acting on behalf of a registered NSW club in the negotiation of a bespoke development agreement for the $100 million redevelopment of the club, and the subsequent redevelopment of the club.
• advising a client, and undertaking all due diligence and transactional matters, relating to the successful acquisition of two retirement villages and two aged care facilities.
• advising a start-up financial services company, including successful multiple rounds of angel investment, and preparation of all necessary transactional and thereafter business operation documentation.
• preparation of a suite of multi-million dollar supply agreements including preparation of tender documents, advice as to tender process and review of tender offerings, selection of suppliers and formal implementation of supply agreements.
• acting for international organisation in recovery of $14 million, involving uncommercial transactions, breach of contract, unreasonable director-related transactions, transactions to defeat creditors and breach of director's duties.
• acting for financial services company who sought recovery of large outstanding debt from multiple organisations.
• dispute between a landowner, various homeowners and an electricity supplier/solar panel installation company concerning misleading and deceptive conduct, statutory guarantees, claims for property damage, breach of contract, Electricity Supply Act issues, and Federal Government funding issues.
• complex financial services dispute in relation to investment advice.
• acting for liquidator in $16 million voidable transaction claim and successfully negotiating commercial resolution to claim.
• complex financial services dispute in relation to Superannuation.
• company dispute with separation of joint property and assets, Trusts, misuse of company funds and loans, breach of director's duties, and Corporations Act issues.
• dispute over ownership of company and assets between national organisation and federation of state bodies involving the Corporations Act, Australian Consumer Law, Trade Marks Act and Trusts issues.
• major dispute between a landlord and project manager, involving issues of performance, delay, design, form of contract, claim for additional monies, and security of payment.
• acting for large institutional property client in $80 million dispute, including initially obtaining urgent freezing orders.
• acting for large financial services client in recovery of $1.4 million from 7 separate entities.
• successfully representing aged care and retirement village operator in both first instance NCAT dispute and resulting Appeal.
• undertaking retirement villages contract roll-overs for various national retirement village operators.
• advising and acting for various national aged care providers and disability providers in relation to enquiries from the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, the Aged Crime Prevention Officer and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Commission.
• undertaking external Aged Care Compliance Investigations and Reporting for a number of national aged care providers in response to incidents and/or potential non-compliance with the aged care standards.
• acting on behalf of defendant companies and individuals in relation to a GBP335 million money-laundering dispute involving an alleged international conspiracy in the UK, USA, and Asia. 
• GBP220 million contractual dispute between a significant UK government department and various companies (both UK and USA based) over use of military hardware.