Browne Jacobson has expanded its growing property health practice with the appointment of new partner Victoria Thourgood into its Manchester office.
The appointment represents the firm’s continued development of its work in the independent health sector and supports the rapid growth of the Manchester office and the property team within it.
Victoria was previously a managing associate at Nabarro LLP in Sheffield where she spent over twenty years advising on all aspects of real estate work.
Whilst at Nabarro she also managed a primary healthcare real estate team and established particular expertise in development, investment and asset management in the primary healthcare sector.
Victoria has also held a number of prestigious positions including former chair of Women In Property (Yorkshire) and a former charities director for Sheffield Junior Chamber of Commerce. She is currently a member of the Primary Care Premises Forum and Women In Healthcare Property and a Fellow of the Forum for the Built Environment.
Dominic Swift, partner and head of property at Browne Jacobson said:
“Victoria’s appointment will be a fantastic boost for our Manchester team and will really support our ambitions to broaden our North West property offering.
“She is joining one of the fastest growing and busiest real estate practices in the country and I know that her excellent expertise and skills in the property health sector will be great fit with our existing and prospective clients, both locally and nationally.”
Victoria Thourgood added:
“I am delighted to be joining a firm with a top quality portfolio of health and real estate clients as well as an excellent reputation as leading legal experts.
“Browne Jacobson’s commitment to continually grow its national healthcare practice and its Manchester team are key strategic aims for the firm and I am looking forward to contributing to its ongoing success with my expertise.”
Victoria joins the firm’s 50 strong national property practice which has extensive experience in complex transactional work and delivering major projects across the country, including ground breaking regeneration projects and major mixed use schemes.
Recent highlights for the Manchester team include advising:
- Manchester based Renold Plc on the acquisition of new headquarters at Manchester Airport business park and the disposal of an industrial site in Bredbury, Stockport
- YHA (England and Wales) on the refinancing of their entire portfolio and the development of a world class flagship Youth Hostel at the former Olympic Park site
- The Homes and Communities Agency on the £10m land acquisition at Gateway North Swindon and the £200m residential development at Northfleet (in partnership with Keepmoat).
Victoria will also support the growth of the firm’s national healthcare law practice which is already considered one of the leading in the country by independent experts Chambers UK.
The team is a trusted adviser to over 50 NHS bodies, over 150 local authorities, and major independent sector providers such as, BMI Healthcare, HCA International, BUPA and the Hesley Group.
Over the last five years, the Manchester office has seen significant headcount growth since its opening in February 2012 and posted impressive financial results with 25 per cent growth for 2015/16.
The firm recently announced plans to move its Manchester office to No.1 Spinningfields. The move will see the firm quadruple its existing office accommodation when it moves into the heart of the award-winning Spinningfields estate in September 2017.
The decision by Browne Jacobson to relocate from its current premises at 3 Piccadilly Place follows a period of sustained growth for the firm and coincides with its plans to expand its service offering in the North West, grow its headcount and continue to deliver exceptional client service to its growing public and private sector client base.
This latest appointment takes the number of fee earners across Browne Jacobson’s five office network to over 480 and follows on from a successful year for the law firm which saw it post a record turnover of £64.3m for 2015/16 and named ‘Best Managed National Law Firm’ at the Managing Partners’ Forum (MPF) Awards. More recently the firm received its highest ever rankings in the latest edition of Legal 500, the independent directory of comparative law firm performance.
