Recruitment drive for busy Vincents

Vincents Solicitors, which has five locations across the county, has expanded its commercial department to manage a 70 per cent increase in workload.

The Preston-based firm has appointed four new starters and made an internal promotion, all following the arrival of new department head Ross Wellman six months ago.

Ross, together with managing partner Phillip Gilmore, have introduced a raft of new commercial property clients including those in the energy sector, student accommodation, hotels and carparks, with instructions involving everything from acquisitions and disposals, funding and land options, sale and leaseback arrangements, and commercial ground rents.

Four commercial assistants have been recruited to provide legal executive support for these cases. They include Olivia Gates, a recent law graduate from the LSE in London; Tabassum Saudi, a law graduate who joins from the commercial team at Baines Wilson; and Jack Andreae, formerly of Birchall Blackburn Law.

The resurgence in buy-to-let residential investment is also fuelling the eight-strong department’s growth. Vincents is the recommended solicitor for purchasers at a number of new schemes in Manchester and Leeds for several high-end apartment developers.

Former trainee Sanya Motorwala is now a fully qualified solicitor. She has grown the development work over the last two years and will now be supported by highly experienced conveyancer Sobia Ahmed, who joins Vincents from Mayland Porter in Rossendale. They will be aided by the department’s existing experienced commercial assistants Nicola Coan and Val Thompson.

Additional solicitors, legal executives and administration staff still actively being sought.

Ross Wellman said: “We’re incredibly busy with both new and existing clients. In the last six months we’ve seen an uplift of 70 per cent when compared with the same period last year.

"Much of that is down to the phenomenal work Sanya has done growing our developer work, for which we’ve recruited Sobia in support. We’re pleased to celebrate her becoming fully qualified and will seek to increase her experience across the wider commercial department.

“We have also welcomed a growing demand for commercial property services from both local and national businesses, many of which I have worked with in the past. We’re assisting a number of clients with purchasing new sites for commercial and residential development, or helping them to secure options while awaiting planning.

“There has also been a rise in sale and leaseback deals which allow businesses to source investment capital by releasing the value of the property. All these activities are extremely positive indicators for economic growth and signal the ability and enthusiasm of entrepreneurs to use property to secure, expand and fund their business operations.” Vincents’ commercial department provides the full range of business advice, including commercial property, corporate, employment and litigation legal services.