Expertise
Thomas is a Chartered Building Surveyor within the Gateley Vinden team. He advises a wide range of public- and private-sector clients on technical due diligence, dilapidations, project monitoring, and building pathology matters across the commercial, industrial, residential and public estates sectors.
Thomas brings a strong commercial background, having joined the industry as a mature graduate after 15 years successfully running his own business. Since qualifying as MRICS in 2023, he has developed a broad professional practice spanning technical due diligence surveys, schedules of condition, contract administration, project management, RAAC assessments, and complex dilapidations instructions for both landlords and tenants.
He has acted for major corporates, local authorities, NHS trusts, higher education institutions, and manufacturing clients, and has a strong track record of negotiating favourable outcomes in high-value dilapidations disputes.
How do you help clients?
I help clients make confident, evidence-based decisions about their property assets. Whether I’m investigating building condition, managing risk on a development, or navigating the complexities of a dilapidations claim, I enjoy providing clarity and pragmatic advice that helps clients achieve the best commercial outcome.
I particularly enjoy simplifying technical issues and ensuring clients feel supported throughout the lifecycle of a project or dispute.
Experience
- Successfully surveying 56 buildings (totalling 150,000m²) for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust to assess the presence and risk of RAAC across a large, complex healthcare estate.
- Providing dilapidations advice for a 12,000 sq ft NHS office building with a potential claim value of £3m, producing a comprehensive assessment and strategic recommendations.
- Defending a tenant against an initial £150,000 dilapidations claim for a medium-sized office in Blackpool, negotiating a 40% reduction.
- Representing Manchester City Council as landlord of a Grade II listed property, issuing multiple schedules and successfully defending claims totalling over £500,000.
- Technical due diligence survey of a 200,000m² 19th-century manufacturing facility on behalf of the tenant, identifying key risks and providing commercially focused advice.
- Project monitoring of a 30,000 sq ft new-build industrial unit (£2.1m value) for Lancashire Enterprise Partnership, including risk reviews, progress reporting and funding assessment.
- Contract administrator for a retail renovation as part of a CPO scheme, managing contract obligations, progress, quality, risk and stakeholder expectations.
- Advising tenants in connection with a £1.6m dilapidations claim for a large industrial warehouse, providing detailed assessment and strategic negotiation support.