Halliwells is a perfect fit, says Ward
HBJ Gateley Wareing joint senior partner Mike Ward has described the decision to take over the bulk of the Manchester operation of failed rival Halliwells as “straightforward”.
The Birmingham law firm agreed to take on 40 Halliwells partners and another 200 fee earners on Tuesday, the day Halliwells was due to enter administration. They will form the new Manchester office of HBJ Gateley Wareing.
Ward told Insider: “In terms of our national presence it was an obvious gap in the market. I’m not sure there are that many national firms without a presence in Manchester whereas the fit for us was a perfect one.”
Ward said the biggest problem in getting the deal done was the tight timescale because of the looming threat of administration. He is optimistic that much of Halliwells’ existing portfolio of work will be retained but pointed out that panel appointments are not transferable. Ward gave the strongest hint yet that the new Manchester operation is unlikely to remain based at Halliwells’ expensive Spinningfields headquarters.
“The Halliwells cost base is higher than we are used to running with. We have an agreement with the landlord of the building until September 28th but we will look at our options after that,” he said.
