Penningtons Manches takes new office in Birmingham and adds senior hires in Oxford

Posted: 16/04/2019

Top 50 law firm Penningtons Manches has made a substantial investment in its real estate division with the opening of a new office in Birmingham and the hiring of two prominent local lawyers into its Oxford office.

Joel Kordan, a renowned commercial property specialist who previously worked for the Birmingham office of Pinsent Masons, joins the firm as a partner and will lead its real estate offering in the Midlands. With extensive commercial and residential development experience, Joel has particular expertise in acting for family offices on a range of investment and development matters. He also has extensive experience in the automotive, rail and retail sectors having acted on a number of large-scale transactions for multinationals and public sector organisations.

In Oxford, the firm welcomes two new lawyers, Justin Winterbottom and Charlie Seaward, both former partners at local niche real estate firm BrookStreet des Roches.

Justin’s main focus is on commercial property fund investment work and development projects. Charlie is very well known in the local business community and brings with him a loyal client base established over several decades of working on high profile and complex transactions. It is anticipated they will play a major role in the future growth and development of the Oxford real estate team.

Peter McElligott, Penningtons Manches' head of real estate, comments: “These investments mark another major step forward for the real estate division following a period of robust growth. Joel is the ideal partner to lead our new Birmingham venture. He has an excellent profile in the local market, having operated at the highest level for a number of years. We expect quite quickly to begin to build a top class team in Birmingham.

“I am also extremely pleased that some very high calibre lawyers have made the decision to join our successful Oxford team; they will be a huge asset as we continue to develop our capacity and capability there. I’m very much looking forward to working with them.”

Penningtons Manches CEO David Raine says: “We are delighted to welcome Joel, Justin and Charlie to the firm. Real estate is a key strategic sector for Penningtons Manches; the combined expertise and experience of these new team members will be instrumental in ensuring the division gains new ground in 2019 and beyond. We also intend the new office in Birmingham to be a platform for increasing the firm’s presence and profile in the local market, and for Joel to play a key role in the development of a broad offering that includes practice and sector teams from across the rest of the firm.”

Penningtons Manches' real estate division represents almost a quarter of the firm’s fee income. Its various practice areas, including the real estate investors and commercial property teams, are highly rated by prominent legal directories Chambers UK and The Legal 500. In the last financial year fee income grew by 16% on the back of a busy and successful 12 months. In autumn 2018 the division hired five new senior lawyers across its London, Guildford and Cambridge practices, including highly regarded property consultant Simon Allan and planning partner Tim Johnson, to help meet client growing demand and take advantage of new opportunities.