David Owen

David is an SRA-regulated solicitor with over 20 years' experience providing commercial and contractual legal advice across the rail, aviation and the wider commercial sector.

Experience
Prior to joining Enigma Seven, David spent over 14 years as Senior Legal Advisor at Porterbrook, advising on complex commercial arrangements covering rolling stock procurement from multiple manufacturers, leasing, maintenance, major modification programmes and finance. He previously held senior in-house legal roles within the Lufthansa/British Midland group of airlines and worked in private practice at Gateleys and Geldards.

His expertise is broad and includes negotiating high-value UK and cross-border commercial agreements, managing significant disputes and advising on complex engineering, procurement and financing arrangements. David's wider commercial background includes mergers, acquisitions and business restructurings, including commercial due diligence and associated contractual documentation.

Within rail, David acted as head legal negotiator on behalf of all rolling stock owner groups for the procurement of a first-in-class European Train Control System (ETCS). He has also advised on rolling stock modification and maintenance contracts, including C4/C6 heavy maintenance and TSA/TSSSA arrangements, as well as engineering modification and innovation projects, including FLEX and re-tractioning.

Leadership
David has managed in-house legal, insurance and company secretarial functions, providing legal guidance to senior leadership teams.

At British Midland, he oversaw in-house legal and support teams and managed the appointment and engagement of external advisers globally across multiple jurisdictions including Asia and the USA.

As a member of Porterbrook's Strategic Delivery Group, David was involved in key business and strategic decisions, bringing legal and commercial considerations into wider organisational planning.