Ward Hadaway 'could expand to open bases in other cities'
The managing partner of Ward Hadaway has confirmed that the top 100 law firm could open offices in more UK cities, after it recorded double digit turnover growth in its latest financial year.
Ward Hadaway, which has offices in Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Teesside, reported record financial results for the 2024/25 financial year, delivering turnover of £53.6m, an increase of 11.6 per cent on the previous year.
Steven Petrie, Managing Partner at Ward Hadaway, said based on its current financial performance, the firm could reach the £75m turnover mark within three and a half years.
Ward Hadaway, which was founded in Newcastle in 1988, expanded into Leeds in 2008 and Manchester in 2012.
It now employs 591 staff, including 123 in its Leeds office.
Although there were no immediate plans for new offices, Mr Petrie said it was a possibility that Ward Hadaway could expand to open bases in other regional cities, as part of its strategic growth.
He said: "We had three offices a year ago and we've now grown to five with the addition of offices in Teesside and Birmingham.
"We're looking at making key strategic appointments in Birmingham and we're also looking to add to the already excellent team in Teesside to provide new areas of expertise, such as private client, matrimonial and construction.
"We see significant growth in all offices but more so in Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester in larger legal markets.
"Client demand was behind our expansion into Birmingham; we've got a national client base and it made sense to have a Midlands presence.
"We opened the Birmingham office in June, we're now up to 14 people. We've moved from our existing space in Chamberlain Square to the floor above, where we will have three times the capacity we have now.
"There are another six new partners joining us between now and May, including three in the Birmingham office.”
"The key thing for us is finding the right people and preserving the culture; they have to match the values we pride ourselves on.
"We're open to mergers; we now have five offices that we will continue to grow and push forward so the primary focus is on lateral hires.
"We had 11.6 per cent growth in turnover last year and we're still maintaining that 11 per cent growth this year.
"2026 is looking good and the pipeline of work we've got and the partners we're recruiting into the business is very encouraging,’’ he added.
"We don't have a desire at this stage to be in London, largely due to the costs in the City, but we are winning work out of London."
The law firm is also behind the Ward Hadaway Fastest 50 awards, which honour the fastest growing businesses in the regions in which it operates. Mr Petrie said there were plans to develop a Fastest 50 in Birmingham, which builds on the success of the Fastest 50 awards in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester.
He added: "We believe it's important to be physically visible and have office space but we also listen to our people; so we have no intention to insist on five-day-a-week working from the office. The world has moved on since Covid. The flexible hybrid policy we have introduced works really well and helps us attract and retain staff."