HBJ Gateley Wareing has signed up for new office space in Manchester following the acquisition of 200 staff and lawyers from the now-defunct Halliwells.
HBJ Gateley is set to move from its current location at 3 Hardman Square – where it has operated since its Manchester launch at the end of July – to Ship Canal House on King Street.
The law firm will take 31,000 sq ft of space over four floors from next month (25 September), after deciding against keeping on the former Halliwells base at Spinningfields, which is understood to have too high a rental price.
As part of the break-up and sale of Halliwells, HBJ Gateley paid the Royal Bank of Scotland £2.55m to acquire 200 staff and lawyers, including 38 partners.
The staff joining from Halliwells include lawyers in banking and finance, corporate, real estate, litigation, corporate recovery, intellectual property, employment, family, pensions and construction.
HBJ Gateley Manchester head Rod Waldie said: “We are delighted to announce that we will be moving to new premises in Manchester, which is one of the city’s very best business locations.
He added: “The building has recently been completely refurbished and HBJ Gateley will become the largest occupier. The space includes at third floor level the listed boardrooms which were originally used by The Ship Canal Company and which will now form a very impressive reception area and seminar room for the firm.”
HBJ Gateley now has seven UK offices, in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, London, Manchester and Nottingham as well as a base in Dubai.
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Source : Legal Week
