Hugh James relocates London office as part of growth strategy

Simon Levine, Grainne Barton, Alun Jones & Paul Kitson

Top 100 UK law firm, Hugh James, has announced it has moved its London office to Gresham Street following significant growth in the capital. The firm has moved from Temple Avenue to a 4000 sq ft office space at 99 Gresham Street.

The new open-plan office houses 30 legal experts, including six partners, and has space for another 15 staff, which the firm aims to fill through strategic appointments and acquisitions of specialist legal teams, particularly in the property, corporate, commercial and construction departments.

The move is part of the firm’s ambitious growth plans and follows Hugh James’ announcement that it will be moving its Welsh headquarters in Cardiff to the new high-specification 2 Central Square development in September.

Hugh James’s Gresham Street office mirrors the cutting-edge working environment that is being created in Central Square. This will include implementing lean working principles and new and improved IT systems to maximise efficiency of cross-department and cross-office working.

The announcement follows significant growth at the firm including the addition of commercial law firm MLM Cartwright to form the largest corporate, commercial and property legal team in Wales.

In addition, Hugh James acquired boutique commercial property law firm in London in 2016, Claremont Richards.

Strategic senior appointments last year also included 20 promotions taking its total employee number to more than 700 across London and Cardiff.

In addition to its office move, the award-winning law firm recently supported Wales Week in London – a marketing initiative which aims to promote events and profile-raising opportunities in London for Wales and Welsh organisations.

Alun Jones, managing partner of Hugh James team said: “Our move from Temple Avenue to Gresham Street is a statement of intent to our existing and new clients. We had reached a point where we had out-grown our office and needed space to grow our talented team.

“Our employees and clients will certainly benefit from our new location and modern office environment. We’re excited to be in a position where we can grow our London team.

“Gresham Street is the ideal location for us with its proximity to the organisations we work with, including banks, private equity firms and leading businesses. Having been in London for 10 years, this office move is a key strategic milestone in cementing our position as one of the UK’s most ambitious law firms.”