Freeths London office has seen significant growth over the past 12 months

The London office of Freeths has seen significant growth over the past 12 months, with staff numbers increasing by 40% to 34 and with strong teams across each practice area. Recent partner hires include Andrew Maxwell (from RPC) to head up a new competitions team, along with real estate specialist Jenny Cooper (from Clyde & Co) focusing on the retail sector.

Philippa Dempster, Managing Partner of the London office, was recently listed in The Lawyer magazine’s ‘Hot 100 List 2017’. She commented:

“This set of financial achievements, locally and nationally, is testament to the hard work of our staff. It has been a busy year of growth across all offices and we work hard, as a team, to deliver the outcomes our clients want. We also strive to make Freeths an enjoyable place to work and take time out to enjoy ourselves and put something back into the local community and we endeavour to put something back into the community by supporting charitable initiatives, ranging from corporate games to skydiving.”

Notable transactions over the past year for the London office include, the corporate team advising on four initial public offering (IPO) transactions, including the flotations on the AIM market of London Stock Exchange of automotive insulation manufacturer Autins Group Plc and cyber security specialist ECSC Group Plc, as well as numerous private M&A and private equity mandates across various sectors from aviation to e-cigarettes; the Real Estate, Planning and finance teams advising on large scale residential, commercial and mixed use developments, healthcare transactions, a public inquiry for 900 homes and a £2.5m CPO compensation claim in the Lands Chamber; the pensions team working with an award winning Mayfair based investment management company and the Trustee board of the second largest global defence company in the UK and the Disputes team advising on a variety of high value disputes including one relating to an iconic London landmark.

Freeths, which promotes ‘Doing the Right Thing’ as one of its core values, also recently achieved its highest ranking in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to work for, at number 50. It was also accredited as a best company 2017, receiving a 2 star rating. The firm has been recognised widely for its diversity over the past few years, winning ‘Firm of the Year’ at the UK Diversity Legal Awards and receiving a highly commended Award for ‘Inclusive Recruitment’ at the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion (ENEI) Awards. Stonewall also recognises the firm as a Diversity Champion.