Trowers spreads its UK wings with Birmingham branch
Trowers & Hamlins is set to open a new office in Birmingham, with a focus on providing low-cost legal services to the affordable housing sector.
The new office will open on 4 July. It will build on Trowers’ existing network of UK offices in London, Exeter and Manchester as well as the five it has in the Middle East.
Senior partner Jonathan Adlington said: “We are broadening our national network so that we are better positioned to meet the wide ranging needs of our clients across the UK. Having researched the market and in response to the needs of our clients, we know that can can deliver a more bespoke and cost-effective service by being based in the region.”
The opening follows news last month that Trowers had closed its office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, amid wider industry criticism about the viability of its remaining Middle East practice and recent exit of partners and associates in the region (23 May).
The new Birmingham office, at 10 Colmore Row, will concentrate initially on the affordable housing sector although it said there are plans to grow the new outpost to cover other disciplines.
Housing projects senior partner Sara Bailey will head the office, joined by London partner Jeremy Hunt and lateral hires Rebecca McGuirk and Yetunde Dania who have joined as partners from Shoosmiths.
Adlington added: “It’s important that we respond to the changing needs of the market. Many of our clients based in London and the South East are looking to their lawyers to deliver a more cost-effective service for some of their work and utilising regional offices is one of the ways we can achieve this.”
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Readers' comments (11)
The Septic Skeptic | 14-Jun-2011 3:17 pm
Excellent strategic move. Who needs Saudi Arabia when you have Birmingham.
The 200 billion riyals committed by the Saudi Government for affordable housing is surely a mere fraction of the affordable housing market that exists in Birmingham.
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Anonymous | 14-Jun-2011 3:35 pm
It's generally a good idea to sort out your failing offices before opening new ones.
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Interested Observer | 14-Jun-2011 4:10 pm
Are they applying for a legal aid franchise?
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Roberto Martinez | 14-Jun-2011 4:12 pm
This is all rather strange. Next they will announce that they have made Alex McLeish their new manager. I heard he is popular in Birmingham.
Is it just me or is there a sense of alarm bells here? TH say "Many of our clients based in London and the South East are looking to their lawyers to deliver a more cost-effective service for some of their work and utilizing regional offices is one of the ways we can achieve this.” Ok fair point, so why don't you just run it through the Manchester Office or is it that BLG are running you out of town so you want to shut down Manchester and head to Birmingham? Watch out for Wragge's though! Or does a "cost-effective service" mean running Manchester as it is and shipping the London property teams to Brum so they are not charging London rates?
Or do TH realize that they are not a City firm / not an international firm / not a regional firm / not a commercial firm but rather a jigsaw without all the pieces. Ergo they are going to sell off either London to another London firm or ramp up the regional ones and flog them to BLG or Wragge or something. Problem is, I don't think anyone would touch them with a barge pole. When I look at TH, the word that comes to mind is Doomed!
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The Septic Skeptic | 14-Jun-2011 4:31 pm
Perhaps they intend shipping 1 million homeless Saudis to Birmingham thereby getting their hands on the Saudi King's money and the conveyancing fees for all the property work.
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Anonymous | 14-Jun-2011 4:36 pm
There is lots of dead wood in the Trowers partnership.
Most of the Gulf offices can be run by junior associates with 2 years' pqe. There is no need to pay colonial relics £400k a year for those administrative posts.
Being a well-connected drinking buddy certainly pays...
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Anonymous | 14-Jun-2011 5:21 pm
AC have got to be worried....
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Anonymous | 15-Jun-2011 9:22 am
It would have been much smarter for them to have bought an incumbent which presence and connections.
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An Insider | 15-Jun-2011 3:36 pm
An interesting move. Will mean hardly any housing work will be carried out in London in a years time (save big ticket regen). This is when they move to new offices letting them downsize to smaller cheaper London offices.
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Ashley Young | 15-Jun-2011 4:18 pm
@ An Insider 3:36 - I guess moving to Birmingham makes sense then because they have just come out of the Premier League too. I do feel sorry for any one starting a training contract at TH in the next few years.
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