Growth by Bristol’s law firms makes city UK’s largest legal centre outside London

Bristol is the number one UK regional city for law firms, according to a new survey which measured how much office space the legal sector occupies outside London.

Bristol, with nearly 875,000 sq ft of office space used by its law firms, heads the table of the 10 cities in the report. Birmingham came second with nearly 782,000 sq ft and Manchester was in third place with 775,000 sq ft.

The report, published this week by leading property advisers CBRE, illustrates how Bristol has emerged as a vibrant and fast-growing legal centre. Its top law firms have continued to expand steadily in recent years – either triggering moves to larger, more modern, offices or forcing them to take more space in their existing buildings.

Last week Bristol’s third-largest law firm TLT, which has grown into a major national player from its roots in the city, confirmed it had signed a new 10-year lease on the landmark One Redcliff Street city centre office block where it occupies six floors.

TLT, which will occupy around 90,000 sq ft of refurbished space – 30,000 sq ft more than now – on the top floors of the 1960s-built, 14-floor building including a new top-floor client suite.

Long-established Bristol firm Veale Wasbrough Vizards relocated to 39,000 sq ft of refurbished office space in Narrow Quay House last November – the former headquarters of rival law firm Burges Salmon before it moved to Temple Quay.

Other deals in the sector have included 13,500 sq ft let to New Law Legal and 10,500 sq ft to Burroughs Day.

However, CBRE’s Law in the Regions report – which provides a comprehensive overview of the legal sector in the UK regions – reveals the average rent paid per square foot in Bristol is the lowest of the ‘big six’ regional cities, which

CBRE head of office agency & development Philip Morton, pictured, said: “Positive demand for legal services has bolstered confidence of law firms, many of whom are taking the opportunity to review their business models and are now looking to selectively invest in real estate in order to align it with future expansion plans.

“UK regional cities have a lot to offer law firms who can occupy space at a substantially discounted rate to London. In the case of Bristol, the city has a large pool of legal talent and great connectivity by rail, air and the M4 and M5 motorways.”

CBRE Research associate director Emma Jackson added: “Key to our findings is that one size does not fit all when it comes to real estate strategy. Different business models and location starting points will require different real estate strategies.

“One thing is certain however, law firms are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their approach to real estate strategy, and as a result we are seeing a huge variety of different space requirements in UK regional cities and indeed a significant variation in the average area per fee earner.”

The report combines quantitative and qualitative analysis to provide key benchmark indicators such as top 30 law firm locations, top cities by number of fee earners, average area and rent per fee earner with an oversight of the main drivers underpinning real estate strategies. These were obtained from in-depth interviews with some of the country’s top law firms.

Top 10 UK Regional Cities by UK Top 100 Law firm occupation

 Source: CBRE Law in the Regions