Commercial property renaissance boosts Pinsent Masons in Birmingham
LAW firm Pinsent Masons has seen a 12% rise in global turnover. Unaudited results of the full year 2014/15 shows turnover reached £362.2m.
It said the results followed a year of expansion at the firm. In March it announced plans to open up the Australian market with office openings in Sydney and Melbourne, before following this with the appointment of 29 new partners to take the firm’s total partnership over 400, which includes five in Birmingham.
The firm’s head of Birmingham office, Greg Lowson said a renaissance in the commercial property sector owed much to the local performance. In tandem with this, in October the firm appointed eight new lawyers to its Real Estate team in Birmingham.
Standout deals completed by the Birmingham office have included advising Persimmon Homes on a landmark property deal for the redevelopment of the Selly Oak Hospital site, and acting for Arena Central Developments on a deal that will see HSBC to move its UK retail banking arm to Birmingham. The firm also advised Methodist Homes (MHA) on its £70m refinancing, and acted for Europcar Group UK Ltd on its £500m asset refinancing.
Greg Lowson, Head of Birmingham office, said: “It has been a very satisfying year in which we have helped a number of our clients in the region achieve their commercial ambitions at home and abroad. The renaissance of the property market has clearly been a highlight, as have a number of significant banking deals.
“The significant number of partner promotions in the Birmingham office include: Didar Dhillon (Infrastructure), Gayle Ditchburn (Universities and Higher Education), Sean Elson (Regulatory), Clare Francis (Commercial) and Nicole Livesey (Corporate).
“Our clients in the Midlands are ambitious and recognise what a truly international law firm, with genuine sector specialism, brings something special to the table. I think they have also appreciated our efforts to innovate and do things differently.”
