Office move ‘vote of confidence’ in Yorkshire’s future
3rd October, 2016
PROSPECTS for the Yorkshire economy look bright as the region continues to attract investment and create jobs and prosperity, according to a leading law firm which has invested in major new premises.
New beginnings – (from left) Ward Hadaway Leeds Senior Business Development Partner Philip Jordan, Managing Partner Jamie Martin and Executive Partner for Leeds Harmajinder Hayre at the firm’s new offices at 5 Wellington Place in Leeds.
UK Top 100 law firm Ward Hadaway says that the promising outlook was one of the reasons why it has expanded its operation in Yorkshire with a move to new offices in the heart of Leeds.
The firm, which also has offices in Newcastle and Manchester, relocates to 5 Wellington Place today eight years after first establishing an office in Leeds.
Harmajinder Hayre, Executive Partner for Ward Hadaway in Leeds, said: “A move like this represents quite an investment for the firm so this is a real vote of confidence not just in the capabilities of our team here but also in the future of the Yorkshire economy.
“We have a real stake in Yorkshire’s success and we are looking to play an even bigger role in helping to tackle the challenges of tomorrow and to build that future prosperity.
“We are extremely proud of our achievements over the past eight years in helping thousands of clients and substantially growing the practice as a result.
“The move to Wellington Place signals the next phase of our development in Yorkshire and provides the perfect platform for further growth.
“We are all very excited about the prospects for the future and can’t wait to get started in the new office.”
Ward Hadaway’s operation in Yorkshire has expanded rapidly since the firm opened up in Leeds in the summer of 2008 at an office off the city’s Wellington Street.
After starting out with seven lawyers in the office, the firm now employs 50 lawyers in Leeds, together with over 20 additional support staff.
It has continued to add to its ranks over the past 12 months by recruiting experienced lawyers including Employment Partner Edward Nuttman, Family Law Partner Andrea Dyer and Commercial Partner Frank Suttie.
Since 2008, the firm has clocked up a number of achievements across the many practice areas it covers, which include corporate, commercial, employment, property, IT, pensions, insolvency and corporate recovery, healthcare, family and matrimonial and services for the private client.
Ward Hadaway’s property team in Leeds has grown from two people to 23 and last year advised on property sales, acquisitions and development agreements worth over £100m for clients including leading national developers and major landowners. It was recently appointed to the legal panel of national land management organization the Land Trust.
The team also has a thriving practice advising housebuilders on all stages of home development. Together with colleagues in Ward Hadaway’s Newcastle and Manchester offices, the team completed the sale of over 2,800 new homes for housebuilders in the 12 months to the end of April 2016 – equivalent to one out of every 50 new homes built in the whole of England during that time.
As well as advising some of Yorkshire’s largest companies and a series of multi-national groups, members of the Commercial team at Ward Hadaway in Leeds also invest their time in helping to bring forward the next generation of businesses by acting as mentors for start-up and high growth businesses in Leeds and offering free intellectual property advice via monthly clinics at Leeds Library Business and IP Centre.
Despite only being established in 2013, the Social Housing team at Ward Hadaway in Leeds has attracted some of the major social housing providers in Yorkshire including Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Housing, Leeds Federated Housing, Unity Housing and Connect Housing.
Ward Hadaway’s Leeds office has also received recognition by the legal industry. The office is recommended in 14 different practice areas by independent legal directory Legal 500 in its latest edition which also comments on the firm’s “fantastic commercial approach”.
Ward Hadaway has also been shortlisted in four different categories in the Yorkshire Legal Awards 2016 – for Private Client Team of the Year, Corporate & Commercial Team of the Year, Employment Team of the Year and Law Firm of the Year.
Philip Jordan, Senior Business Development Partner at Ward Hadaway in Leeds, said: “This kind of recognition is always rewarding and is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the whole Leeds office, not just over the last 12 months but in the eight years since we were first established here.
“Our new offices will help us to provide an even better service to the clients we currently work with and those we hope to welcome through our doors for the first time.”
Jamie Martin, Managing Partner at Ward Hadaway, said: “Our Leeds office is crucial to our position as a Northern law firm for national business so it was vital that we got this relocation right.
“We are delighted with the new office and we look forward to continuing to serve the companies, organisations and people of Yorkshire in the years to come.”
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