Law firm invests in real estate with flurry of partner hires
THE real estate team at the Manchester office of national law firm Shoosmiths has been boosted with the arrival of four new partners.
Partner and head of office Vaqas Farooq said the expansion was a reflection of the team’s involvement with the North West’s booming property sector.
The new starters – Barbara Rollin, Richard Outhwaite, Russell Davidson and Daniel Hargreaves – bring with them a combined 80 years of experience to the Shoosmiths team.
Their arrival takes the total strength of the company’s Manchester real estate team to 11 partners and a further 52 lawyers and support staff.
Barbara Rollin, a former head of commercial property at Gordons in Leeds, has more than 20 years in real estate, and specialises in real estate finance and insolvency work. She was described by the Legal 500 as acting with ‘pragmatism and commercial realism’ to help clients achieve results without fuss.
Daniel Hargreaves, formerly of Pinsent Masons, has significant experience in advising on projects ranging from single sites developments to multi phased regeneration schemes. He acts for a mixture of private and public sector clients.
Richard Outhwaite, formerly of DWF, acts for a number of high profile national and international property developers, funds, retailers and hoteliers. He is described and recommended in Legal 500 UK as being ‘extremely competent and proactive” and as a “retail expert”.
Russell Davidson worked in London for 11 years with Linklaters and was later a partner at Lupton Fawcett in Leeds. He specialises in all aspects of commercial property and particularly in hotels and the wider hospitality sector.
Vaqas Farooq, who heads Shoosmiths’ Manchester real estate team as well as being head of office, said: “Their combined experience will significantly enhance our presence in the city and help us to meet client demand as Manchester’s regeneration and development continues to accelerate.
“That regeneration is one of the stand-out economic success stories in the UK and we are proud to be playing a key role in the city’s economic growth by advising on many of the key transformational projects.”
The firm announced last year ago that it has signed up to Allied London’s new XYZ building, where it will take 32,000 sq ft over two floors to accommodate its ambitious growth plans.
The company will take occupancy in January and has temporarily relocated to Allied London’s Old Granada Studios site until then.
