Richard Benson is a Managing Director at The Ardent Companies in the London office.  He is responsible for deal origination, capital raising, and asset management for the UK operations.  As a qualified lawyer, prior to joining Ardent In January 2021, Richard was Deputy Head of Legal at the Battersea Power Station regeneration project in London where he oversaw the legal functions.  In addition to his legal role, Richard was also part of the Development and Leasing teams where he was responsible for managing and delivering all major commercial transactional work at the project including the landmark lease to Apple of 500,000 square feet of office space as well as the £1.6 billion ownership restructuring and refinance of the Grade II* listed Power Station.  Prior to Battersea Power Station, Richard trained and worked at major UK law firms Mishcon de Reya, Nabarro LLP (now CMS LLP), and Dentons.  Richard holds an LLB (hons) in Law and French from Nottingham Trent University and gained his LPC from BPP Law School.