Southampton: Thomas Eggar builds team

Law firm Thomas Eggar has unveiled the team to head up its new Southampton operations from early September.

Thirty staff will initially be based at the 13,500 sq ft office which Thomas Eggar bought freehold for £1.7m in July in the commercial heart of the city, with capacity for up to 80.

Thomas Eggar’s managing partner, Tony Edwards, said: “We are all looking forward to rolling our sleeves up and making our mark in Southampton as a full-service law firm that is professional, approachable and affordable for local businesses and individuals alike.

“We are regarded by the market as ambitious and different, carrying out legal work with flair, which should stand us in good stead over the years to come.”

He added: “This is an exciting time, a new era, and we have not been put off by the economic conditions relating to the credit crunch.

“We could have called off the deal but, as a firm with a 250-year pedigree, looked beyond the present. We regard Southampton as a long-term strategic investment.

“Thomas Eggar already has lots of work from businesses and individuals in the city and it is simply a case of staff moving closer to the action in what is the largest commercial centre in the south, outside of London.

“We very much want to play an enabling role in the success story that is Southampton, and Thomas Eggar looks forward to being an integral part of this city’s thriving business scene.”

To start with there will be 17 fee-earners and 13 support staff.

Six partners will be leading at the four-story office in Brunswick Place, with business law services ranging from real estate to dispute resolution.

They are Caroline Armitage (corporate), Estelle Clarke (banking), Richard Hastings (commercial and ICT), Anthony Nixon (personal tax and succession planning), Richard Purcell (commercial property) and Esther Smith (employment).

A number of partners already have associations with Southampton.

For example, Armitage, who heads up the mergers and acquisitions team across Southampton, Newbury and Gatwick, has a daughter at the University of Southampton and is buying a property locally to live in.

Armitage is a corporate finance specialist acting for owner-managed businesses, venture capital-backed teams and listed companies.

She specialises in mergers, acquisitions, disposals and corporate restructuring, with travel and insurance being two key focuses.

Estelle Clarke was brought up in the city and is well known in the regional legal world as she led the corporate banking practice at Lester Aldridge LLP before joining Thomas Eggar two months ago (MAY).

Her clients include banks, corporate borrowers and investors.

Thomas Eggar is ranked third on the south coast by industry bible Legal 500, and is 70th in the UK's top 200.

The group has nearly 600 staff and a turnover of £48.8m. The firm acquired the Newbury office of Penningtons Solicitors LLP last December as part of a rolling expansion strategy.

Southampton is Thomas Eggar's sixth office – the others are in London, Gatwick, Newbury, Chichester and Worthing.

The firm’s office in Southampton is currently undergoing a £1m refit following the £1.7m acquisition from owner and previous occupier Blake Lapthorn Tarlo Lyons