Expansion of national business services in Birmingham

Leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell has announced a further expansion of its national business services department with the acquisition of a 10-strong team in Birmingham.

The team, including three Partners, will join Irwin Mitchell on May 1 from BPE, boosting its offering to Midlands businesses in key areas including Insolvency, Commercial Litigation, Corporate, Commercial and Property.

The move is the latest addition to Irwin Mitchell’s growing business offering nationwide, the backbone of which has been Yorkshire and London. The acquisition strengthens the firm’s presence in the Midlands and complements existing teams in Yorkshire and London.

Peter Wylde, Head of Business and Private Client at Irwin Mitchell, said: “This acquisition will enable us to meet the needs of our clients in the West Midlands more effectively from our local base. It is consistent with our strategy of offering a wide range of services to the business community in each of our regional centres and enhancing our national network of Corporate, Insolvency, Litigation, Property, HR and other services for businesses.

"Some other law firms are downsizing their corporate capabilities, but we believe this as a good time to invest and build on our strengths in a key range of services for businesses during these uncertain economic times. This acquisition will help to ensure we are well positioned to assist clients in trading through the present difficulties and being prepared to take advantage of opportunities that will arise when the inevitable upturn occurs"

Stuart Henderson, Regional Managing Partner for Irwin Mitchell in Birmingham said: "This team is well known and well respected in the West Midlands business community and this move represents a considerable strengthening of the range of services to businesses that we are able to offer.

"Irwin Mitchell is already one of the largest law firms in the Midlands and we intend to continue investing in our strategic growth in this important region and to offer the very best legal services to the communities we serve."

The acquisition will see Corporate Finance expert Paul Wakefield join as a Partner from BPE, along with Insolvency Partner Andrew Taylor and Commercial Litigation Partner Mark Elder, and takes the number of staff across all practice areas in the firm’s Birmingham office to almost 300.

Irwin Mitchell provides a range of legal services in the West Midlands, including those offered by its highly respected Insurance, Lending and Recoveries division, and its market-leading Personal Injury practice, which has experts working with clients from six offices across the country.

John Workman, Senior Partner of BPE Solicitors, said: "The acquisition is beneficial to all parties. Our strategy is to concentrate on driving and growing our practice from our Gloucestershire powerbase, while Irwin Mitchell is looking to extend its range of business services in Birmingham. I am pleased that the opportunity arose for both businesses to meet their strategic objectives via an efficient and amicable negotiation."