Wragges in 'advanced stages' of new HQ deal

Wragge & Co is in the "advanced stages" of negotiating a deal on its move to larger offices in Birmingham.

Speaking to The Lawyer today (7 April 2008), senior partner Quentin Poole said the firm has outgrown its three offices in Birmingham - totalling 165,000 sq ft - and was looking to consolidate its three offices into a single, larger base.

The firm is currently spread across a 134,000 sq ft main office in Colmore Row in the heart of Birmingham’s legal and financial district, as well as two satellite offices which together add a further 30,000 sq ft.

The new single-site office will cover 200,000sq ft.

Poole said: "There are very few 200,000 sq ft offices currently available in Birmingham," adding that after Birmingham City Council and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the new office could be one of the biggest lets in the city.

Poole said adverse market conditions would not alter the decision to take on larger premises, as it could be two or three years until the occupation actually took place.

He added that it was a "pure coincidence" that landlord Aegon Asset Management was looking to sell the office building the law firm occupies, as "it doesn’t matter to us who the landlords are."