DWF takes on more space and higher costs in Leeds

DWF has moved into new offices in Leeds, quadrupling both its office space in the city as well as its rental costs, which are set to hit £800,000 per year.

The North of England firm has taken up two floors, totalling 32,000sq ft, in Bridgewater Place, the same building that Eversheds occupies. The new base offers opportunity for the current headcount of 91, the smallest among its four offices, to grow.

The new office follows the trend towards flexible working arrangements through providing break-out areas, according to managing partner Andrew Leaitherland. "We don't want people sitting behind their desks day in, day out," he said.

The firm is aiming to bring in £64m in revenue during the coming year, a 15.7 per cent rise on 2007-08. During the same period Leaitherland said DWF will also sign up to a new Manchester headquarters.

The current Manchester office is home to almost half of its 887 staff. The office consists of several floors of a building totalling 67,000sq ft, which sets it back £1.1m a year. The firm aims to take?up?90,000sq?ft?to 120,000sq ft, which will cost in the region of £2.5m.

DWF reported growth of 10.6 per cent this year, with the main driver being an entire family team that it took on from Cobbetts. As a result private client grew by 230 per cent. The second-largest rate of growth was in business recovery, which grew by 29 per cent, while banking was up by 25 per cent.

Real estate posted among the lowest firmwide rates of growth, with 5.5 per cent, but remains one of the largest practice areas by total turnover.