LSH closes while Eddisons opens in Liverpool
Lambert Smith Hampton’s Liverpool office is to close this week, with three directors having already left to form a local office for rival consultancy Eddisons.
Robert Diggle is now agency director at Eddisons, with Steven Grindley as director in the firm’s valuations team and David Baker, who headed the LSH office, joining the pair at the firm.
Paul Parker, associate director in asset and debt advisory, and ratings specialist David King, also associate director, are to transfer to LSH’s Manchester office, it is understood.
Matthew Scrimshaw, head of North region at LSH, said: “LSH has an unrivalled UK network of offices and regularly reviews its portfolio to ensure that we continue to offer local market knowledge, responsiveness, extensive specialist expertise, and great value.
“Due to the proximity of our Manchester and Liverpool offices, and the extensive experience our 110-strong Manchester team, we have consolidated our North West operation by closing the much smaller Liverpool office.”
“LSH remains extremely active across Merseyside and we will continue to cover this market from our Manchester base going forward.”
On Eddisons’ part, the firm’s head of banking and valuation Anthony Spencer said: “We’re delighted to welcome three talented surveyors to Eddisons in Liverpool; between them they have over 50 years’ property experience so they bring a wealth of expertise to our valuation and agency teams.
“Building a strong presence in Liverpool forms part of the company’s regionalisation strategy, and enhances our ability to offer unrivalled knowledge across a broad spectrum of commercial, residential and specialist sectors.”
What became the Liverpool LSH office, based in 5 St Paul’s Square, was acquired as part of the deal when LSH took over ES Group, previously known as Edward Symmons, in March 2015.
A source close to the business, who asked not to be named, told Place North West: “The team was always well-regarded in Liverpool, but you could question whether LSH ever had an appetite to support an office long-term in the city, when Manchester has always been such a major hub for the firm.”
The Eddisons team is based at the office of parent group Begbies Traynor at 1 Old Hall Street. Eddisons was acquired by Begbies, the insolvency and business recovery group, in December 2014.
Hopefully LSH’s clients will either follow the team to Eddisons or seek to work with those firms who are actually based in Liverpool and are committed to the Merseyside market.
By Mr Smith