PROPERTY LAW FIRM
Sponsored by
Winner: There were three contenders:
• Pitmans LLP • Shoosmiths LLP • BrookStreet des Roches LLP
With commercial real estate as its key focus, BrookStreet des Roches from Abingdon claims the highest number of experienced real-estate lawyers in the region – 38, among an 84-strong staff. Rivalling large national and City law firms, it provides comprehensive property legal services.
Its commitment is reflected in long-term client loyalty. Its Milton Park location enables a “real value for money“ offering. Its technical ability and personal service has been recognised by top rankings in the 2015 editions of Chambers and The Legal 500.
With one of the largest Thames Valley and probably south of England legal teams, Pitmans acts for several prominent UK-wide homebuilders, often managing legal aspects throughout a project.
The firm’s real-estate expertise majors on three key areas: residential, notably larger scale developments such as the £15 million Parklands scheme in Reading for Bewley Homes; corporate and finance work (Pitmans is Metro Bank’s main real-estate lawyer outside London); and social housing, a significant area under pressure for more South East homes.
The Reading team of Shoosmiths led by four partners has enjoyed an exceptional year involving projects “of a size and scale normally the preserve of City law firm“ and “clear evidence of the growing strength of demand for real-estate advice in the Thames Valley“.
businessmag.co.uk
BrookStreet des Roches
The judges were looking for “a law firm whose property team has enjoyed an exceptional year, either in terms of volume of work, quality of instructions, or both.”
Shoosmiths’ highlights include advising on: TH Real Estate’s disposal of Festival Place Shopping Centre in Basingstoke; McKay Securities’ acquisition of £60m of new property; PRA Health Sciences’ property portfolio expansion and lettings in Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa.
As category sponsor, David Thomas, regional partner of commercial property agent Vail Williams, announced the winner as the “highly- regarded and very active property team” at BrookStreet des Roches.
Having received the award, managing partner Hugh Blaza was very proud that his firm had won the title for the first time: “We are completely thrilled, bowled over. We never doubted for a moment that we were not the best, of course, and we were finalists last year, but ...
“I don’t think we have done any more business this year, maybe a lot of different things and more locally. We have had some very interesting and new deals in the Oxford area for a few of the colleges.”
Although the firm’s specialist property work is largely with well-known corporates and investors, helping with tactical and strategic management of their portfolios, this year BrookStreet’s clientbase has broadened to include more entrepreneurial clients, Blaza added.
What makes a successful law firm? “I believe it is the professional relationships we have with our clients, the relationships we encourage our lawyers to build with our clients, and indeed with each other.
“We believe in collaboration, not making the law difficult to understand, and converting our knowledge of the law into commercial practical advice. We interpret what our clients want to do and give them the legal basis on which they can do it, so it’s a true partnership that we aim to create with each of our clients.”
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2016
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