Major step forward for Penningtons Manches Cooper in Birmingham

Posted: 01/07/2020

The Birmingham office of top 50 law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper, which was established by real estate partner Joel Kordan last year, has announced a significant milestone in its ongoing development.

The firm has recruited four specialist lawyers to spearhead the growth of its housing corporate and governance practice nationally who will all be based in Birmingham.

Gemma Bell, Rose Klemperer, Ellen Damlica and Sharon Thandi join from local firm Anthony Collins. Together they bring a new and important strength to Penningtons Manches Cooper’s successful social housing practice, which advises more than 70 housing associations and has already gained a foothold in the region by winning clients such as such as Midland Heart and Central Housing Investment Consortium (CHIC).

Their arrival is also a notable step forward for the Birmingham office, the firm’s first location outside of its traditional stronghold in the South East.

Partner Joel Kordan comments:

“Following a highly encouraging first 12 months in which we’ve won some significant mandates across the private and public sectors and expanded our team in various disciplines, I’m absolutely delighted to be welcoming Gemma and her team to help us drive forward our growth strategy in the Midlands and beyond. Their particular skills and experience will complement our wider real estate, public sector and corporate governance services and they also bring specialist expertise in areas such as charities and not for profit organisations.”

He added: “I’m especially pleased that, despite the pandemic and its related challenges, we were able to push forward with bringing them all on board. The team is highly rated in the housing sector both locally and nationally, with a client-centric approach that reflects our own. I am very much looking forward to working closely with them to build further momentum in the market.”

Partner Gemma Bell said:

“We’re thrilled to be joining Penningtons Manches Cooper and to being part of the Birmingham and social housing teams. We’ve worked really hard over the years to build a specialist practice that our clients really value and trust and having direct access to the skills and experience of the wider group here means we can offer them even more. Social housing is a vibrant sector that doesn’t stand still and which has a strong reputation for innovation; coming together expands our capability to grow with our clients, ensure their needs are anticipated and the best solutions are delivered.”

About Penningtons Manches Cooper’s new housing corporate and governance team

Partner Gemma Bell works nationally with a range of clients including housing associations, local authorities, charities and social enterprises. She specialises in advising housing associations on major corporate projects including mergers, group consolidations and joint ventures. She is also considered a ‘go to’ person for governance advice in the sector.

Senior Associate Rose Klemperer works with housing associations and community led housing providers. Her expertise includes new group structures, strategic governance advice, training and governance reviews. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the membership organisation Women in Social Housing Midlands.

Associates Ellen Damlica and Sharon Thandi advise clients across the housing and third sectors on their corporate and company secretarial needs, including providing training and support to boards and executive teams on their regulatory compliance. Sharon sits on Birmingham Law Society’s Equality and Diversity Committee.

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