Professionals: Creative Sheffield, Pinsent Masons, Deloitte

ORGANISATION Creative Sheffield launched its North Shoring Campaign last week.

The economic arm of Sheffield City Council, Creative Sheffield is aiming to attract legal services from London and the South East to Sheffield.

The Invest Sheffield team will be connecting with legal services firms about moving in on Sheffield.

Cllr Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council & Cabinet Member for Business, Skills & Development, said: “By attracting more legal services firms to Sheffield and creating jobs and importantly career opportunities, we can attract and retain the talent in the city.

“Sheffield has two world class universities and 21,000 graduates enrol here each year.

“We undoubtedly have an amazing lifestyle offer for people who love big city life and the great outdoors, and this is something we are seeing as key in the decision-making process of firms looking to relocate outside of London.

“Office take-up in Sheffield is booming in light of major new developments and an up-turn in confidence in the market, with office take-up reaching just under half a million square foot in 2015.”

The Invest Sheffield North Shoring campaign has already generated support from existing legal services firms based in the city.

Richard May, partner at DLA Piper said: “DLA is proud to have its roots in Sheffield and remains committed to the region. There is a wealth of entrepreneurial flair which highlights the diversity of Sheffield’s offering and the spirit that sets us apart.”

Fragomen Worldwide has set up its second UK office in Sheffield, Tapestry Compliance is planning on doubling in size and Wake Smith Solicitors have relocated their 100 staff into the city centre.

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LAW firm Pinsent Masons has announced plans to open a second German office in Düsseldorf.

A three partner team will be launching the office made up of Dr. Thorsten M. Volz, Dr. Sönke Gödeke and Dr. Torsten Wielsch, all formerly of KPMG’s legal arm.

Dr. Volz has headed up KPMG’s Energy and Major Projects group in Germany since 2010

He will be head of Pinsent Masons’ Düsseldorf office and lead the firm’s German energy practice.

The firm’s decision to launch a second office in Germany follows the success of its technology-focused practice in Munich in July 2012, which trebled in size since opening.

It has been involved in the acquisition of fintech business IND by FTSE-listed MiSys and the disposal of mobile communications infrastructure to Drillisch AG as a result of the Telefonica/e+ merger.

Düsseldorf will become the firm’s 21st office and bring the total number of partners at Pinsent Masons to in excess of 400.

Chris Booth, head of the Leeds office at Pinsent Masons said: “We know that our clients in Yorkshire value having a truly international law firm, with deep sector specialism, on their doorstep. The firm’s expansion into Dusseldorf will continue to be beneficial to our Yorkshire client base, ensuring we can offer the best possible service locally, within the UK and across the globe.”

Richard Foley, senior partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “Munich has been a real success story since launch three and a half years ago and the time is right to take the next step.

“Our vision is to be recognised as an international market leader in the global sectors in which we operate and the appointment of this team in Düsseldorf is another significant milestone on that journey. We’re confident that our clear emphasis on sector specialism means we can bring something unique to the market.”

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BRADFORD’S Tong High School is set to launch a month-long attempt to win a national enterprise project following a visit from the UK chairman of Deloitte.

Nick Owen visited the school to talk to students about their bid to win the 2016 Micro-Tyco project.

In it, school teams are given a micro-loan of £1 and challenged to grow that amount over the following month.

All money raised through Micro-Tyco is invested by the charity WildHearts into micro-loans for entrepreneurs to start their own businesses in developing countries around the world.

Tong High School won the project in 2014 by generating £3,657 from the initial £1, and repeated the feat a year later by turning £1 into £5,030.

This year, students are already planning a range of events – including tombolas, raffles, sponsored supermarket bag packs and charity football matches – in the hope of keeping the Micro-Tyco title in Bradford.

Staff from Deloitte in Yorkshire will once again be supporting the students in their endeavours, through the firm’s mentoring programme with the school.

Deloitte has partnered with the school since 2013, providing students with mentors to help them with future career options, running workshops on core employability skills.

Nick Owen, chairman at Deloitte, said: “Hearing some of the stories of how the students apply entrepreneurial thinking to the Micro-Tyco challenge was very inspiring, and it is clear that the support provided by Deloitte in the region has been extremely valuable.

“We have established a very positive and fruitful working relationship with Tong High School and we will continue to build on this to provide the students with practical steps to releasing and realising their potential.”