Legal 500: Property remains in retrenchment

THE property sector is one still in retrenchment for many laws firms, despite opportunities for refinancing and restructuring projects, sector analysts have said.

All this week, TheBusinessDesk.com in association with RBS is taking a sector-by-sector look at the state of the region’s legal market as outlined in the latest Legal 500 report.  

A PDF supplement of this year’s Legal 500 review is available to download here.

Steve Lewis, RBS relationship director for the solicitors & professionals unit (pictured), said: “Property remains a market in retrenchment.

“Developers are looking towards a smaller number of projects and are also focused on refinancing and restructuring existing developments and projects.

“It will, as a sector, continue to generate revenue, but we are still some way away from the previous levels of activity and fee generation that dominated the early to mid noughties.”

Five law firms top the bill for commercial property across the North West. They are Addleshaw Goddard, DLA Piper, Eversheds, Hill Dickinson and Brabners Chaffe Street; with DLA reported as top tier in both Liverpool and Manchester; and Hill Dickinson in Liverpool and Chester.

In other property areas, Pinsent Masons tops the billing for construction work across the region.

Meanwhile, Eversheds gets the top spot for planning and environmental work.

Property litigation is an active area, with six firms represented in tier one: Addleshaw Goddard, Beachcroft, Cobbetts, DLA Piper, Eversheds and Hill Dickinson.

Tomorrow’s Legal 500 review will focus on technology, media, telecoms and sport.