HBJ Gateley Wareing rebrands as Gateley - except in Scotland

HBJ Gateley Wareing has unveiled a new name as part of a rebranding exercise.

The firm will now be known as Gateley in England and Dubai, while in Scotland it will adopt the name HBJ Gateley.

Senior partner Mike Ward said: “The change of name is a natural step for us. The HBJ Gateley Wareing name is reflective of the history of the firm but we are widely referred to in the market in England as “Gateley”.

“We have found that clients that are new to the firm sometimes struggle to identify our brand between the “Gateley” and “HBJ” names and, following the opening of our Manchester office last summer, we feel the time is right to make this change to allow the firm to focus on a strong national brand.”

The national firm opened a Manchester office last year when it acquired a significant chunk of failed firm Halliwells. The firm moved into Halliwells’ former Spinningfields HQ and took on its banking & finance, corporate, real estate, real estate litigation, corporate recovery, commercial litigation, intellectual property, employment, pensions and construction departments, hiring 40 partners in the process (21 July 2010).

Ward added: “As a national firm, with a comprehensive network of offices, we are keen to reduce confusion and use one name to reinforce our integrated national approach.”

Scottish senior partner Malcolm McPherson said: “We know from talking to our clients and staff in Scotland that the HBJ element of our brand means a lot to them and so it is important that we retain the use of the HBJ name in the Scottish market.”