Bristol-headquartered national law firm TLT has boosted its position in the Scottish legal market with the takeover of a specialist commercial real estate firm.
TLT’s acquisition of Glasgow-based Leslie Wolfson & Co will also bolster its 200-plus real estate team as it has experience of advising clients in England and Wales as well as in Scotland. 
TLT said the move would, in particular, expand its services for corporate occupiers, developers, banks, investors and public bodies, as well as its work advising on the property issues facing retailers and leisure operators.
It is the latest addition to TLT’s Scotland practice since disputes partner John Paul Sheridan took over the leadership of the firm there in February.
TLT launched in Scotland following the 2012 merger with Anderson Fyfe, providing it with the capability to deliver legal advice from all three UK legal jurisdictions – England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. It is one of only a handful of UK law firms that can deliver this support for clients.
The firm has also been building its real estate offer across the UK with six partner hires in the past few years including Judith Allen and Kevin Murphy in its Belfast office, Jason Juden and Matthew Cox in London, John Hyde in Manchester office and Richard Turnbull in Glasgow.
Other 2018 hires include clean energy real estate partner Nick Shenken from Pinsent Masons and banking and finance partner Douglas Gourlay from Weightmans.
John Paul Sheridan said: “We are committed to growing the team in Scotland and building a market-leading service for clients in the sectors where we specialise, and this acquisition is a clear example of our drive to deliver that.
“Leslie Wolfson is a great fit with what we are trying to achieve in Scotland and across the UK. Their expertise will further enhance the support we can offer clients.”
TLT head of real estate Maria Connolly added: “This move is another boost to our strong UK real estate offer and a key part of our strategy to continue to build leading expertise in this sector.
“The UK real estate market remains resilient in spite of some of the wider economic challenges and we are continuing to build our expertise across the UK to support our clients with opportunities in the market.”
TLT recently announced a 10% increase in UK fee income to £82m for the financial year 2017/18 – the first full financial year since it launched its new strategy to 2020.
The firm has more than 100 partners and employs around 1,000 people.
