THE Law Society will consolidate two of its offices in the West Midlands into one new operation for 600 staff in Birmingham city centre.
The representative association for the legal profession plans to move employees from its Solicitors Regulation Authority bases at Ipsley Court, Redditch, and Victoria Court, Leamington, where its consumer complaints service is based.
An exact date for the move is yet to be confirmed but a spokeswoman for the Society said it would most likely happen in 2012.
Although a deal is yet to be signed on new office accommodation, TheBusinessDesk.com understands that Two Colmore Square is the preferred address where the Society is looking to take around 60,000 sq ft.
It has six levels of office accommodation with floor plates ranging from 15,000 to 21,000 sq ft.
Rupert Young, development director at Nurton Developments which owns the building, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “As yet the Law Society has made no decisions on a specific building although we have been talking to them and are hopeful.”
He added that the body was due to discuss the matter at a council meeting yesterday.
Sources have said that both The Cube, in Birmingham, and Portland House next to Birmingham Airport, have already been considered and disregarded by the Society.
The Birmingham office of BNP Paribas is acting for The Law Society while CBRE and GVA are acting for Nurton – all three declined to comment.
This latest development follows the Legal Ombudsman recruiting around 350 staff last year for a new, 40,000 sq ft base in Baskerville House, Birmingham.
Inward investment body Business Birmingham has been working for several months with the Solicitors Regulation Authority on the move.
Investment director Wouter Schuitemaker told TheBusinessDesk.com: “It’s great news and a very strong indication of the breadth and depth of the skills available.
“What has been mentioned by the SRA is that Birmingham has a much bigger pool of talent and the right sort of skills for the Society to grow.
“We are starting to build quite a capacity for regulatory bodies and the Society could be up to 700 staff in the fairly near future.”
Birmingham City Council leader Cllr Mike Whitby added: “The decision to relocate 600 staff to Birmingham city centre, despite some stiff competition, reflects the strength of our offer.
“This move, when considered alongside other major regulatory bodies in the city further confirms the talent, specialist knowledge and expertise of Birmingham’s legal and professional community.”
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