LAW firm Harper Macleod has made a significant expansion by joining forces with private client specialist Bird Semple.
That will see turnover at the enlarged firm rise by around 10 per cent to somewhere above £23 million.
Bird Semple, which can trace its roots back to 1845 and has its main office on Blytheswood Square in Glasgow, has a turnover of around £2.1 million.
At the moment it provides a range of specialist services including wills and succession, asset protection, wealth management and personal taxation.
Bird Semple's 35 employees, including six partners as well as other lawyers and support staff, will relocate to Harper Macleod's Ca'd'oro building on Gordon Street in Glasgow on September 1.
Once there they will combine with the existing private client team. Harper Macleod has taken steps to make room for the additional numbers by increasing the office space at its headquarters by around 15 per cent as part of a refurbishment programme.
It is thought likely the Bird Semple brand name will be retained.
Harper Macleod, the legal adviser for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, believes it will have one of the largest private client practices in Scotland from September, with more than 50 dedicated staff.
The firm hopes to grow its private client operation from its other locations, in Edinburgh and Inverness, on the back of the partnership with Bird Semple.
Lorne Crerar, chairman of Harper Macleod, said: "Bird Semple helps us to extend our private client offering in wealth management, age management and there is a tax angle which we haven't had before.
"It really does extend our reach and expertise in that area of work.
"There is a strong business case for Harper Macleod, and Bird Semple [has] very nice people, who I think we will get on well with."
Mr Crerar said talks about the deal have been going on for around nine months and stemmed from Harper Macleod's desire to extend its private client practice.
He said: "The opportunity that existed for our business to be continually sustainable was to get additional expertise. Bird Semple stood out as being the firm we could most work with.
"The legal business is undergoing significant seismic shift and finding two good partners to come together is a very difficult exercise. We have managed it with them and it is very positive."
Frank Fletcher, managing partner of Bird Semple, said: "This is a positive and exciting development for our clients, partners and staff. The last few years have ushered in a period of significant change in the legal profession. Looking to the future, we believe the interests of our clients are best served by combining our own specialist expertise with that of colleagues in another strong and successful firm in Scotland."
Mr Crerar confirmed around half of the additional space the firm has added in Glasgow would be taken up once Bird Semple move in, while the Inverness office has also been extended. He said: "We are pretty sure the way things are going at the moment we will continue to grow."
The firm is also looking at ways to capitalise on its involvement in the Commonwealth Games.
Mr Crerar added: "The Commonwealth Games has been an enormous opportunity grasped by the firm and if we can just make the most of the legacy then again I think we will see significant growth."
Bird Semple's commercial and corporate practice joined with what was to become DLA in 2000.
In the 12 months to March 31, 2013, Harper Macleod saw its turnover rise from £19.2m to more than £21m with operating profit going from £6.3m to almost £7.7m.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article