St Philip's banks on Birmingham

The first stage of St Philip's Chambers' reincarnation as a public limited company has been completed with the purchase of its new premises in Birmingham.

All 92 tenants, after individual investments of £10,000, are now shareholders in St Philip's Holdings Ltd, the company which purchased the £800,000 premises in the Old Bank of England.

This company is in turn leasing the premises to St Philip's Chambers Ltd.

After a total investment of approximately £3m, systems are now in place to make the running of St Philip's as close to a 'partnership' as is possible under Bar Council practice rules.

Entry and exit protocols have been introduced to enable new tenants to join and become shareholders in the company.

The move, to be completed by Christmas, will enable the set to introduce new working practices such as flexible desking, open plan offices, remote access to a computer network and a central library on database.

Vincent Denham, chief executive at St Philip's, says: "The legal profession has worked hard to bring itself into the 21st century and the bar should be no exception.

"Our move into Temple Row, right into the heart of Birmingham's legal community, is the perfect opportunity to improve efficiency and service."