When we opened our Cardiff office on 5 July 2023, we spoke about how it was a very exciting time for Wales amid a series of significant energy and regeneration projects, a recently announced Freeport scheme and big inward investment ambitions.
After working with public sector clients here for more than 25 years, we noticed a growing demand for commercial legal services in the private sector. We also knew that having a Cardiff office would enable us to build a full service offering with lawyers based in Wales working for Welsh organisations.
We recently conducted a survey to understand and measure the impact of the Cardiff office on existing and new clients. The responses revealed:
- An NPS Score of +80 across both new and pre-exiting clients
- 71% of pre-existing clients feel that the opening of the Cardiff office has either Strengthened or Significantly Strengthened the depth of the relationship
- 67% of new clients believe a local presence is important or very important
- 67% of new clients would not have chosen Browne Jacobson without a presence in Cardiff
- 67% of new clients see the Cardiff office as being influential or very influential in their decision to instruct Browne Jacobson
In the 15 months since we opened, we aren’t the only ones recognising the opportunities in Cardiff and more widely across Wales, as a number of national and international professional services businesses have also increased their presence in the city.
PwC announced an eight-figure investment programme in its Cardiff office in October last year. Having already more than doubled headcount to 500 in the previous 18 months, it will create more than 1,000 high-skilled jobs over the next five years, with a particular focus on digital and technology.
This news was followed by global insurance group Howden opening an office at Cardiff Gate Business Park in April, while fellow international broker Lockton has also began to build business here with a small team and a number of commercial partnerships. KPMG, another giant of the professional services world that employs 100 people in Cardiff Bay, has placed on record its ambition to grow its presence in Wales.
At the same time, our conversations in the market suggest that household name banks are committed to further expansion here, while there are strong rumours of other national law firms – and potentially even some big City hitters – wanting to expand into Wales.
It’s clear this isn’t just a case of London-based firms ‘west-shoring’ by moving operations into the regions to reduce overheads; these firms have identified a real momentum behind Wales, and a value to investing in Cardiff in particular.
Cardiff is a modern industrial hub with a science and technology sector predicted to grow by 6.6% over the next five years, according to a report by real estate firm Avison Young that identified it as the fastest-growing core city in the UK.
The 7.2% boost to its economic output and 20% population growth by 2028 is attributed to the city’s three universities, which attract up to 70,000 students per year.
This economic success story is complemented by a series of large-scale regeneration projects on the horizon, including enhanced rail links and capacity via Cardiff Crossrail and Cardiff Parkway, housing developments at Central Quay and Atlantic Wharf, and new premier office accommodation at Central Square.
We started with seven people when the office opened and by the end of 2024 we will be in excess of 30. Whilst we were confident of the opportunity for the firm, the growth has been extremely fast paced in a short period of time.
Our view is that this is combination of both the existing legal services market and the above overwhelmingly positive developments in the wider professional services market.
