Shakespeare Martineau moving to smaller Leicester office

Shakespeare Martineau is moving its Leicester office to space across the road. The law firm is relocating from No 2 Colton Square to No 1 Colton Square. The move will come less than six months after Freeths law firm moved its Leicester operation from No 2 to No 1 Colton Square.

Shakespeare Martineau has been based in the office complex on the site of the city’s old police station for the past decade. Management said the change of space would not see any jobs lost and would give it a more “agile” working environment in line with people working from home more of the time following the pandemic.

The firm is taking 9,500 sq ft of first floor space from mid-June, compared to its existing offices which covers 12,500 sq ft. A spokewsoman said the new space was better configured, partly because the firm did not need as much storage due to moving to digital records.

It also keeps the team less than five minutes' walk from Leicester train station and comes a week after the business announced it was opening a new permanent office in Lincoln.

The current Leicester headcount is 135 – up from 124, two years ago – and parent group Ampa said it is recruiting across its businesses.

Louise Ingram, co-head of the Leicester office, said: “It was time for a refresh of our Leicester office hub to better reflect our working practices and to bring together our people and clients in a rejuvenated, modern environment.

“No. 1 Colton Square offers an updated, accessible and agile space for our people and clients to work and collaborate in. Having previously been occupied by a tech company, it gives us a fantastic, modernised base on which we can put our personalised stamp.

“Following feedback from our people for greater flexibility, we launched our empowered working principles in 2021, which give our people flexibility on when and where they work, within the parameters of ensuring that we provide best service to our clients.”

Lisa Botterill, also co-head of Leicester, said: “We remain absolutely committed to Leicester for the long-term, recognised by our strong connections and heritage across the city and throughout the surrounding area.

“We look forward to continuing our investments in Leicester, growing our team and welcoming clients to our new office hub.”